Today, listener Matt Jukes asks us whether the legacy agency structures (suits&creatives, art directors & copywriters etc) was holding back creative work. As ever it likely depends, but coming on the heels of a very inspiring episode with the folks at Maximum Effort, we definitely think it's a question worth discussing.

When Ryan Reynolds got into the world of advertising with Maximum Effort, a whirlwind of exciting campaigns started to pop - starting with his own Aviation and Mint Mobile ventures, or working with client brands like Peloton (recently reacting to the death of Big in record time). We're joined by two brilliant strategists at the heart of the company, James Toney and John Deschner who tell us more about what it's like to work on big ideas that can be executed in 48 hours, how it pays off, and what it takes to deliver them - with or without Ryan Reynolds in the mix.

Let's face it, most of marketing is pretty mediocre. There's a reason people decide it is worth blocking altogether when they have the chance or technical resources. But why is that? Is it a lack of ambition? Guts? Or maybe a remnant of something that might have worked in the past?

Agencies' business model has often been debated, but rarely agreed upon. Is it even possible "radically" change it when virtually everything has been tested yet? This week, Rachel and Shann share their thoughts as agency co-founder and ex-agency people.

Unusual question? Well, apparently it's not an unusual assumption. Sometimes it's even a lamentation from clients: "how come do the people who work for me agency side are paid more than I am?"

In this episode, Rachel and Shann discuss whether this thinking has merit, what may be driving it, and also where it may be taking the service industry.

Ad tracking has become one of the most common tools of "modern advertising". But as regulators start legislating more and more against it (and some big tech companies taking stances "protecting" us from it), one has to wonder, what will happen to the advertising industry? Do we go back to the bright ages of creativity? Do small businesses lose a key competitive advantage? Is it all a storm in a teacup anyway and we end up simply using contextual targeting?

While TV isn't dead (at least not yet), there has been a clear trend towards a diminishing inventory and massive changes in watching behaviors. With advertising being so heavily reliant (at least historically) on TV advertising, could that industry survive it, or are we headed towards mostly performance based advertising?

Strategy might be too important to be left to the strategist. Does a "strategist" need them to champion - or even to formulate - it? Or is that more of a shared responsibility anyway? And if not, what would that say about the future of strategy as a profession?

Portfolio schools have proven effective at giving many people the chance to learn practical (and sellable) skills that made them ready to join advertising teams. But in light of the news that Creative Circus will be closing at the end of the year, we asked ourselves whether those curriculums were still relevant, or whether this may be the first domino to fall?

Innovation is on most corporations' agenda, but not on many's list of achievements. This week, we're joined by three exceptional innovation leaders to discuss how companies can better foster a culture of innovation:

- Lan Guo, User Research Manager, Business Messaging @ Meta

- Mary Catherine Plunkett, Sr Director Customer Success Design @ Autodesk

- Leslie Llado Social Enterprise Lead @ Splash International, an NGO designing child-focused water, sanitation, hygiene, & menstrual health solutions in Asia & Africa.