Uncensored CMO

Ella Mills is the co-founder of Deliciously Ella, which began in 2012 as a simple blog sharing healthy recipes. What started online quickly grew into bestselling books, a #1 mobile app, and eventually a retail brand of healthy snacks. In 2024, Deliciously Ella was acquired for an undisclosed sum and today Ella is building her next venture, All Plants.

Her journey is inspiring, and in this episode we explore every milestone: from securing her first Starbucks listing, to navigating a failure that nearly sank the business, to proving how an “average” person can create a truly global brand.

Ella's podcast, The Wellness Scoop:
https://open.spotify.com/show/7F6YqGJ06UEuD7qG81tFHw

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:01 - The Deliciously Ella founding story
06:16 - When did the Deliciously Ella blog start to take off
11:22 - Dealing with overnight attention and success
13:33 - How can an average student become so successful?
15:03 - How to nail a successful book launch
17:16 - Scaling a personal brand
21:08 - What’s it like running the business with your husband?
24:00 - Going from recipe blogs to making retail products
24:53 - How Deliciously Ella landed in Starbucks
33:18 - Building out the product range
35:04 - Behind every success is a bunch of failures
41:07 - Managing risk vs return when scaling a startup
45:29 - How to make products that are successful in retail
49:53 - Why Ella took over a new brand after selling Deliciously Ella
52:30 - Where is the plant based market headed?
56:22 - Why Ella started a podcast?

David Gluckman, the man who invented Baileys and author of That S**t Will Never Sell, joins us to share stories from his legendary career in brand creation. From the birth of iconic drinks (including Purdey’s, Aqua Libra, Cîroc and Tanqueray) to lessons on creativity, innovation, and risk-taking, David reflects on what it really takes to bring bold ideas to life.

Timestamps
00:22 - The founding story of Baileys
04:32 - Naming Baileys
12:18 - How Purdey’s and Aqua Libra began
22:48 - Starting Cîroc and Tanqueray
33:26 - Principles of innovation

Jonny Bauer has helped transform some of the world’s biggest brands, from revitalising Axe (Lynx for UK listeners) at BBH to building strategy from the ground up at Droga5. In this episode, Jonny shares why brand can become a company’s greatest asset, what he learned moving from agencies to private equity at Blackstone, and how to bring brand to the front of the P&L. Plus, how to win CEO buy-in, build long-term strategy, and the case studies that prove the power of brand-led growth.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:58 - Why we never celebrate the strategy behind good campaigns
04:03 - What Jonny is most proud of from his time at BBH
06:27 - Transforming Lynx / Axe brand
09:34 - Building strategy from the ground up at Droga5
15:23 - Best strategy outcomes at Droga5
17:47 - From ad agency to private equity
28:39 - Learnings from Blackstone on running a successful business
32:34 - How Blackstone approaches marketing
33:50 - How to bring the brand up to the front of the P&L
37:06 - How to get brand buy in from your CEO
40:11 - Leaving Blackstone to use this approach on other clients
47:17 - Successful case studies

Fernando Machado is one of the world’s most celebrated CMOs, known for game-changing campaigns like Burger King’s “Moldy Whopper.” In this episode, Fernando shares the work he’s most proud of, why surprising campaigns cut through, and how creativity drives real business growth. We also discuss the most innovative non-advertising ideas from his career, what it takes to be an influential CMO, and his advice for startups looking to scale through bold marketing.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:30 - What campaigns has Fernando been most proud of throughout his career
07:57 - The Moldy Whopper Campaign
16:55 - Why surprising campaigns are effective
20:52 - The most creative non-advertising things in Fernando’s career
36:05 - How to be an influential CMO
41:46 - Fernando’s advice to marketing startups
51:39 - The Lions Growth MBA

Matt Pohlson is the co-founder of Omaze, a platform that’s raised over £300m for charity through once-in-a-lifetime prize draws. Matt shares how a life-changing moment shaped his mission, the business model behind giving away luxury homes and cars, and why storytelling and consistent advertising have fuelled Omaze’s success. Plus, the challenges of the founder journey and his advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:32 - Matt’s near death experience
03:08 - How a near death experience has changed Matt
06:56 - Omaze origin story
10:18 - Shifting from US celebrity to UK focused prizes
13:24 - Do Omaze buy the houses, cars and luxury items?
14:22 - The business model of Omaze
18:09 - Why storytelling is so important for Omaze
24:52 - Why Omaze make so many ads
28:16 - Omaze’s advertising success through consistency
31:27 - The most challenging parts of Matt’s founder journey
33:59 - Matt’s advice to aspiring founders

Is Jaguar’s bold rebrand a stroke of genius or marketing madness? We sit down with Rawdon Glover, Managing Director of Jaguar, to unpack the strategy behind one of the most dramatic relaunches in automotive history. From pausing sales to redesigning the brand from the ground up, Rawdon shares how Jaguar is reinventing itself for a younger, electric-first generation and talks about the visceral response from the launch video.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:53 - Rawdon’s journey into the automotive industry
02:34 - A challenging time to be at the helm of Jaguar
04:03 - Deciding between evolution and revolution at Jaguar
09:05 - Why new car buyers are getting younger
12:23 - Making the decision to rebrand Jaguar
15:45 - Creating differentiation in the age of electrification
18:46 - Designing the new Jaguar
24:43 - What the Jaguar Owners Club think of the new car
27:27 - The polarising Jaguar launch video
33:14 - Dealing with the visceral reaction to the rebrand
36:22 - How Jaguar will launch the car
39:29 - Choosing to pause selling cars
41:28 - Waymo’s partnership with Jaguar
45:04 - When will the new Jaguar go on sale

In partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Tyler Bahl, CMO of Activision, to explore what it takes to market some of the world’s most successful games, from Call of Duty to Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Tyler shares insights on launching blockbuster titles, the evolving gaming landscape in 2025, and how livestreaming, esports, and AI are transforming the industry. Plus, lessons from 23 editions of Call of Duty, surprising audience insights, and working directly with icons like Tony Hawk.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:54 - Tyler’s time at Quibi
02:33 - State of the gaming industry in 2025
04:14 - Tony Hawk Pro Skater Surprise
05:35 - The demographics of the video game consumer
08:16 - How to launch a video game
10:47 - How live streaming and esports has transformed video gaming
14:10 - Ratio of male vs female video game players
16:28 - Is video game success due to the product or the marketing?
18:00 - The success and longevity of Call of Duty
19:13 - Maintaining marketing success after 23 editions of Call of Duty
20:36 - “The Replacer” campaign execution and success
22:21 - Measuring success
23:28 - How Activision do partnerships for game launches
25:35 - How Activision makes sports games
27:39 - Future sports games from Activision
29:42 - What impact is AI having on gaming?
31:40 - Working with Tony Hawk on the launch of the new game
32:46 - Lesson’s from Tyler’s career

In this episode, produced in partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Todd Kaplan, CMO of Kraft Heinz, to uncover the marketing “secret sauce” behind some of the world’s most iconic brands. Todd shares lessons from driving 21 quarters of growth at Pepsi, why simplicity beats complexity in marketing, and how he’s bringing an entrepreneurial spirit to Kraft Heinz. We also dive into working with agencies, building in-house creative, and what makes a truly great CMO.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:30 - Todd’s background
01:41 - How Pepsi achieved 21 consecutive quarters of growth
02:36 - Pepsi’s approach to innovation
04:22 - Battling short term vs long term in innovation
05:20 - From 18 years at Pepsi to joining Kraft Heinz
06:41 - Encouraging an entrepreneurial culture within Kraft Heinz
09:10 - Having an in house agency at Kraft Heinz
12:10 - Todd Kaplan’s tips for working with external agencies
16:28 - Why consistency of the brand is important for Kraft Heinz
18:55 - Creating marketing that actually works
24:39 - The best marketing is simple
27:44 - What makes a great CMO?

In partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Grainne Wafer, Global Category Director (Beer, Vodka, Liqueurs) at Diageo, to explore how one of the world’s biggest drinks companies drives growth and builds iconic brands. Grainne shares the trends shaping the beverage industry, the transformation of Baileys, and how Diageo manages a portfolio of global powerhouses like Guinness. We also discuss the value of sports sponsorships, the rise of Guinness 0%, and why marketing effectiveness is always on tap.

00:00 - Intro
01:19 - What are the trends in the beverage industry?
03:25 - What are the up and coming portfolio brands for Diageo?
05:01 - How does Diageo manage brands internally?
06:30 - Is Diageo going to sell Guinness?
08:42 - What’s behind Diageo’s 17% YoY growth?
12:03 - Guinness sport activation with Rugby and Football
12:36 - How Guinness 0% is so close to the original
14:23 - Guinness’ sponsorship of Football and Rugby
16:26 - How to do measure the value of a sponsorship of the Premier League
17:39 - When the UK ran out of Guinness
18:08 - Sponsoring the Women’s Six Nations
21:44 - How Diageo broadly measures the impact of marketing
23:57 - Baileys celebrates 50 years
25:22 - How Baileys was transformed
27:23 - The Diageo way of brand building
31:38 - Grainne’s advice to CMOs

To celebrate 200 episodes, Tom Goodwin is back on Uncensored CMO. He's got a pretty strong opinion on the state of advertising. It's broken, and we need to fix it. Tom lays out where he thinks it's all gone wrong for the industry and what we can do about it. As uncensored as ever, Tom brings an entertaining and fresh perspective on marketing. Strap in.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:50 - The state of advertising in 2025
02:40 - Why is the advertising industry not moving forward?
06:13 - Brand vs performance marketing
09:20 - What’s broken with marketing in 2025
11:54 - How to actually be customer centric
17:23 - Winning internal battles to allow long term work to thrive
21:18 - Is performance marketing fraud?
26:23 - How to make advertising better
33:02 - Are we valuing creativity enough