What do British military strategy and great audio ads have in common? More than you’d think.
In this episode, Stew Redwine is joined by Oxford Road’s Steven Abraham and Giles Martin to explore the U.K.'s greatest export to the world of advertising: planning. Drawing a line from wartime intelligence to account planning to podcast briefs, the trio makes the case that disciplined strategy—not just clever copy—is what separates forgettable ads from unforgettable ones.
Together, they unpack how British planning culture shaped the modern agency model, and why the best creative still starts with a sharp, clear objective.
Plus: a full Audiolytics® breakdown of four top podcast ads from Unilever (Dove, Degree, Vaseline, and OLLY). Did they plan the spend... or just spend?
You’ll learn:
- How Stephen King and Stanley Pollitt turned war rooms into strategy departments
- Why briefs should be battle plans, not brainstorming warmups
- How to diagnose when an ad failed because the thinking never showed up
- What Unilever’s podcast ads get right—and where they miss the mark
- Why every Chief Audio Officer should be asking: “What are we trying to do here?”
Ad Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road and Produced by Caitlyn Spring & Ezra Fox, MFA, written & hosted by Stew Redwine, and sound designed by John Mattaliano, with audio production by Zach Hahn.