The Fuel Podcast

Who Killed Creativity?

Something happened to advertising.

It got bigger. Richer. More sophisticated. More measurable. More efficient.

But did it get better?

For the return of The Fuel Podcast, Keith Smith abandons the traditional business interview and turns investigator in a 48-minute documentary examining what happened to creativity in advertising, and who's responsible.

Inspired by Steve Harrison's provocative book Adland's Progressive Gaze, Who Killed Creativity? assembles the witnesses, examines the evidence and lines up the suspects.

Did advertising lose sight of its original purpose: selling?

Did corporate short-termism and procurement turn creative ideas into commodities?

Did HR professionalise the industry while inadvertently filtering out some of the unconventional talent that once made it extraordinary?

Did purpose and virtue signalling replace persuasion?

Did data make advertising smarter, or simply more cautious?

And now, having spent decades pursuing efficiency, is the industry about to make its most consequential trade yet: human creativity for artificial intelligence?

Featuring advertising legend Dave Trott, author and creative director Steve Harrison, psychologist Rachel Laws, BLUP founder and creative director Dines, former Saatchi & Saatchi and GGT advertising executive Simon Derungs, and Paul Grubb.

This isn't a nostalgia trip. And it isn't an argument for returning advertising to some imaginary golden age.

It's an investigation into how an industry built on extraordinary ideas became increasingly concerned with process, measurement and efficiency, and whether the pursuit of all three has become a Pyrrhic victory.

Because perhaps there isn't one murderer in this story.

Perhaps this is Murder on the Orient Express.

Maybe we all had a hand on the knife.

The Fuel Podcast: Who Killed Creativity?

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Seasoned ex-advertising executive, company founder, investor, entrepreneur, business coach and executive mentor James Sherwood-Rogers hilariously discusses how he’s managed to leverage a career of big advertising agency leadership experience and practical business acumen into a highly successful career, helping big companies and their CEOs stay fit for purpose.

He’s a massive Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy fan, so this did take up a lot of the conversation, but he explains that it is quite prophetic!

On our journey through the galaxy, we discuss salt & vinegar crisp packaging, nostalgic TV shows of the 1970s, visions of the future, a report from the AI community, burnout, his new somatics consultancy and the tech ban paradox.

James also reveals how nearly became Prime Minister of the UK, what famous ad celebrities he’s bumped into recently and explains what the Lime bike challenge is.

James’ LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsherwoodrogers/

James’ new business Ontologica. The Sovereign Architect is a

https://www.ontologica.co/

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For our 200th episode we thought we’d celebrate in style with some fun, party games and laughter provided by our friend Chris Miller – the copywriter with his own strapline.

Chris is the bloke who’s recently been lampooning the advertising industry and poking fun at its foibles using his hilarious cartoon-strips ‘Ye Olde Creative Shoppe’ and ‘The Dashed Creative Agency’ which have been met with raucous approval from the advertising industry’s elite.

In this show, we discuss Chris’ path to stardom, his advertising career arc, what inspires him and how we’re going to survive the AI apocalypse, which should be arriving in the next 6 months or so.

Show notes

Chris’ LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrccmiller/

Chris’ brilliant web site and portfolio: https://www.ccmiller.cc/

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Kelly Molson, founder of Rubber Cheese, sold her agency and is now an agency consultant and successful podcaster. She shares her 21-year journey building a lifestyle-focused web development agency that she started with just £1,500.

She advocates for founders to prioritise life over aggressive growth, defining success on personal terms rather than industry standards.

Only 4% of agencies ever sell, making the lifestyle model - optimised for freedom, joy, and profit now—a viable alternative to exit-focused growth.

 Show notes

Kelly’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellymolson/

The Kelly Molson web site: https://kellymolson.co.uk/

‘Lifestyle is a Plan’ podcast: https://lifestyle-is-a-plan.captivate.fm/

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"Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters."

The number one rule for any successful business deal is trust. So why do we keep supporting media that people don’t trust?

Alice Buttling is the leader of UK media company Attinger Jack and her career arc is a superb demonstration of walking the talk when it comes to trust and expertise.

We explore The Brilliance Paradox, which media are most trusted and the importance of ethical standards, where the big advertising agency holding companies have gone wrong, and why independent expertise now offers clients better value.

Show notes:

Alice Buttling's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-buttling-smith-2420a05/

Attinger Jack web site: https://www.aja.co.uk/

Freddie Mercury AI (Live Aid) https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vHCTXnm5gKM

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How to bottle your brilliance in 6 words or less!

The creative marketing business is built around the idea of hooks.

Anna McLoughlin of inkspiller whose business ‘hook’ is ‘Helping founders bottle their brilliance in 6 words’ – using her skills as a storyteller to uncover business founders’ unique perspectives, stories and value, to distil it into a practical messaging toolkit.

Show notes:

Book your place in the workshop: https://calendly.com/inkspiller/brilliance

Inkspiller web site: https://www.inkspiller.co.uk/

Anna’s LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/inkspiller/

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The independent creative marketing agency community is set for an explosion of growth. Big agencies are struggling to adapt to the new climate; CMOs are buying and building their own customized marketing stack and only the very best in each discipline will do.

Clive Mishon an advertising industry veteran now heads up the Alliance (the Alliance of Independent Agencies) – a global resource of the

Jacks of all trades are being replaced by masters, and this show is all about what we need to do to deliver what’s needed.

Show notes

1. Alliance of Independent Agencies -https://allindependentagencies.org/ 

2. Alliance of Media Independents - https://allindependentagencies.org/alliance-of-media-independents/

3. Alliance of Agency Founders -

Alliance

4. Alliance Learning Lab - https://allindependentagencies.org/learning-and-development/

5. Independent Agency Awards - https://awards.allindependentagencies.org/

6. Mad North - https://www.madfestlondon.com/north/

6. Global Musicals - https://globalmusicals.com/

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How do we earn keep and maintain trust in our working relationships?

Over the next 3-5 years it’s going to be the only thing left that separates us from the robots.

David Meikle is here to discuss the role that trust plays in the world of advertising and marketing communications.

Trust isn’t just a critical driver of efficiency and revenue, but it’s also essential for innovation, mental fortitude, and meaningful stakeholder relationships in business.

In a world where we’re increasingly outsourcing key performance indicators, how can we be reliable business colleagues, customers and clients?

Show notes:

David's Company web site here: ⁠https://www.htbag.co.uk/⁠

David's LinkedIn profile here: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-meikle-6194405/⁠

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A totally new interview with audio drama expert Aaron J Reardon, recorded in time for Halloween - on video. And if that's not weird enough..

In this show, we discuss the massive growth of the audio drama genre. How creative effort beats budgets every time. Aaron's two biggest hits Plant Murder and Selene have already won awards for innovation and production and he continues to develop each one. Along the way, he's become hot property in Hollywood, recently writing a murder mystery for one of the film industry's most talented multi-talented artists.

In this special Halloween edition of The Fuel podcast, Aaron and I discuss the roots of audio drama and its future. We discuss War of the Worlds, Dr Who and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as well as contemporary audio drama hits such as Midnight Burger, Wooden Overcoats and The Magnus Archives - and how they have become hot property for marketers keen to exploit this incredibly powerful new medium.

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Show notes

Aaron’s production company – Clever Than: https://www.cleverthan.com

Rusty Quill: https://rustyquill.com/

Aaron’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-reardon/

Selene: https://shows.acast.com/selene

Plant Murder: https://rustyquill.com/show/plant-murder/

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Mystery writer, podcaster, and indie studio head focused on immersive mysteries - Aaron J. Reardon is here to shine an eerie light on a new entertainment format that actually predates TV but is enjoying a renaissance as podcasts on digital channels. And we're not talking about a cottage industry - oh no. Audio Drama is a massive category of entertainment that hasn't even broken into the mainstream yet. Now is the chance to find out all about it and how - as marketers, you can leverage your brands in this exciting new market.

Aaron's expertise is on full display as he explains how his roots as a digital marketing lead for Red Bull, took him into the world of music, streaming and then made the leap into drama. He explains how social media has killed off the art of storytelling and how this new area is filled with content creators making shows on the fly and adapting their work in real time. We cover the Alton Towers curse, how plants kill people, what drives listeners, how marketing can leverage the format; the theater of the mind and the golden rules of creating audio drama. We also discover how this phenomenon began in the 1920s and discuss the Victorian internet.

Aaron's production company - Clever Than: https://www.cleverthan.com

Rusty Quill: https://rustyquill.com/

Aaron's LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-reardon/

Selene: https://shows.acast.com/selene

Plant Murder: https://rustyquill.com/show/plant-murder/

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.