You're On Mute - The Podcast

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit As advertising people, we spend much of our time trying to create images that become icons of the era and language that becomes the argot of the age. (Or at least, some of us do). We mine the cultu…

One man’s struggles with #PostWar #consumerism We review #SloanWilson’s #1955 #novel #TheManintheGrayFlannelSuit: wp.me/P23AlC-FV

I Should Have Known Better: The real value of improvement — Martin Bihl It’s mindboggling sometimes to think about how much has changed in the advertising industry. And while I’m sure every generation has said the same thing, the simple fact is that they were wrong and we...

#RalphWaldoEmerson said that if you build a better mousetrap, the world would be your oyster. Or something. My thoughts on whether that’s true any more. Or something. www.martinbihl.com/business-thi... #advertising #marketing

Episode 20-Chatinoda Tinago Podcast Episode · You're On Mute · 01/30/2025 · 15m

We start with the question “Is happiness a state of being or a memory?” and kind of evolve into “Is happiness the same from culture to culture?”. Episode 20 with Chatinado Tinago on #YoureOnMuteThePodcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...
#happiness #culture #podcast

Admen, Mad Men and the Real World of Advertising There are a many ways that you can tell if someone really understands advertising – though they’re probably not what you think they are. For example, you can’t tell by the number of awards th…

Why #advertising is like #MadMen and why it’s not. We review @LMOAdv’s @Dave_Marinaccio’s #AdmenMadMen wp.me/P23AlC-CB #marketing

An Irrevocable Condition: First Pitch in Oxford Fly away home, little boy. Fly from school and the people you don’t know and the games you don’t understand to a television transmission…

What happens when your 90-year-old uncle goes back to his alma mater to throw out the first pitch? Sometimes you learn something: thewatertoweronline.com/an-irrevocab... #Baseball #OleMiss

thanks for listening! glad to know someone else is out there thinking about this!

Love this question. I’ve wrestled with it too—sometimes feels like creativity is more remix than invention, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful.

Episode 19-Kash Sree

.#KashSree has judged & won awards at all the prestigious #advertising shows. So he’s both received & given jealousy, envy & appreciation. Which is why we asked him what we asked #LanceThomas in season 1: how are they related & what can we learn from them? open.spotify.com/episode/31mn...

Remembering George Lois—a tribute to the iconic art director Industry legend was both accessible hero and inspirational human

George Lois was a very polarizing figure. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. My thoughts on the occasion of his passing: adage.com/article/opin... #AdAge #GeorgeLois #advertising #creativerevolution

Do Cool Sh*t Perhaps the chief challenge of books by entrepreneurs is that they tend to fall into two common traps. The first is a deep-seated belief that what worked for the author will work for everyone else.…

How one #serialentrepreneur got that way. We review @EatDrinkWild & @THINX founder @twinmiki’s #DoCoolShit wp.me/P23AlC-xU

Episode 18-PJ Haarsma Podcast Episode · You're On Mute · 01/30/2025 · 15m

We discuss #PhillipGlass, #StarWars and #RobertRodriguez in an effort to figure out if all art is derivative or not, and if it matters. Episode 18 with filmmaker and author #PJHaarsma: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... #art #movies #books #creativity

The Second Machine Age Once, when I was a boy, I was in an editing suite with my father as he and others pulled together a TVC or two from some video they’d shot. And I recall the client, who, inexplicably was there that…

Why the #future is where we may rediscover our #humanity. We review @erikbryn & @amcafee’s #SecondMachineAge: wp.me/P23AlC-xz #2MA

I’m Only Bleeding: Why Most Hospital Advertising Sucks — Martin Bihl Why you can’t rely on what you usually rely on when you make an ad for a hospital, but why that’s not an excuse for bad #advertising.

Why you can’t rely on what you usually rely on when you make an ad for a hospital, but why that’s not an excuse for bad #advertising. Thoughts on #hospitaladvertising: www.martinbihl.com/business-thi... #hospitals #healthcareadvertising #doctors

Episode 17-Lucas Harger Podcast Episode · You're On Mute · 01/30/2025 · 18m

In the first episode of the second season, we ask editor Lucas Harger - who pulls brilliant stories out of thousands of hours of film - the question we asked Olivia Kenney in season 1: Do we make our lives or do the people and events around us make them for us? podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

Keep the Change: Some Thoughts on Small Business Banking — Martin Bihl Sometimes dissatisfied customers are just jerks. But sometimes dissatisfied customers are telling you the rules have changed & you’re not paying attention. Some thoughts on small business banking.

71% of respondents to a #banking survey of small businesses identified a “gap” between what they need & what they’re getting. Some theories on what they’re talking about & why it matters. www.martinbihl.com/business-thi... #banks #business #postCovid #smallbusiness

Romancing the Brand You can tell marketing is difficult because a lot of people spend a lot of time and money trying to create systems for it. Books are written, seminars given, entire MBA programs developed around th…

What your #spreadsheet can’t tell you about your #customer. We review @TheBrandGuyTim’s #RomancingTheBrand wp.me/P23AlC-x6 #marketing

Episode 16-Introduction to Season 02 Podcast Episode · You're On Mute · 01/30/2025 · 2m

Wait, there’s more? Yup, and the introduction to the second season episode explains what’s the same, what’s different and why you should care. Well, mostly the first two. Check out Episode 16: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... #YoureOnMuteThePodcast #podcasts #seasontwo

Martin Bihl: This Playground Brought to You by Miller Brewing Company - Unfolding Thought In this episode of The Unfolding Thought Podcast, Eric Pratum speaks with Martin Bihl — writer, strategist, podcaster, and self-described “recovering ad man.” Known for his sharp wit and reflective ta...

Eric Pratum asked me questions about life, the universe and everything. I somehow brought it all back to advertising. And yet because Eric is a master host, it doesn’t suck. Shocking. unfoldingthought.com/martin-bihl-... #advertising #creativity #EricPratum #YoureOnMuteThePodcast #TheAgencyReview

The Idea Writers Back in 2010, Teressa Iezzi, former editor of Advertising Age’s Creativity, and at Fast Company’s Co.Create,  noticed something. That in spite of the insipid nature of, as she writes “many, many bl…

How #socialmedia is changing your #creativedepartment. We review @thefarmersdog’s @tiezzi’s #TheIdeaWriters wp.me/P23AlC-wh

Episode 15-Matt Mizenko Podcast Episode · You're On Mute · 02/29/2024 · 15m

“Forgiveness feels far more personal. It feels like it HAS to be more personal.” Tech executive Matt Mizenko discusses the differences between being forgiven and being pardoned. Episode 15 #YoureOnMuteThePodcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... #forgiveness #pardons #podcast

Fireworks at Ikenohata, by Kobayashi Kiyochika, 1881.

Who Are You?: Some thoughts on personas — Martin Bihl Advertising agencies created "personas' to help them create work that would resonate better. Does it? And will AI make it better or worse?

Strategists and planners created “personas” so creatives would have something better to work with than just raw data. Somehow I link that to #DungeonsAndDragons in an effort to show how #AI might help. Sort of. www.martinbihl.com/business-thi... #advertising

Soap, Sex and Cigarettes You may ask yourself how many histories of advertising do we really need? Even your intrepid reviewer, as much as we personally are fascinated by the topic, realizes that advertising does not hold …

What #consumers were thinking during the #history of #advertising. We review #SoapSexandCigarettes: wp.me/P23AlC-vX #marketing

Episode 14-Jeff King Podcast Episode · You're On Mute · 02/29/2024 · 12m

“While it’s possible to look at the future without hope I think it’s also critical to look at the future WITH hope.” Clean Tech Exec #JeffreyKing on looking at the #future with curiousity. Episode 14 #YoureOnMuteThePodcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... #cleanenergy #cleantech #podcast

Episode 13-Chris Trotter

“People are having trouble with ideas. Or rather, people are having trouble SELLING ideas.” Writer and teacher #ChrisTrotter on whether art is derivative or not on episode 13 of #YoureOnMuteThePodcast: open.spotify.com/episode/5F7p... #art #creativity #podcast

Pinterest Power In his 2000 film of Nick Hornby’s 1995 book, John Cusack makes an observation that, in the context of the movie makes perfect sense, but that, when considered outside of it, actually goes against e…

Fundamentals of #Pinterest and of #marketing. Worth the read for the former. We review #PinterestPower the-agency-review.com/pinterest-po... #advertising

Follow the Money — Martin Bihl I enlist Peter Drucker to make the point that all businesses - regardless of what industry they're in - have one job to do. And it's not what most of them think it is.

Imagine an argument between me, @FarisYakob and #PeterDrucker. Now imagine that we’re not actually arguing with each other, we’re instead arguing with most companies about how they run their business. Sound too good to be true? Well guess what… www.martinbihl.com/business-thi...

Talk Talk Talk: Observations about language and change — Martin Bihl Words matter, of course, but do ALL words matter? Or are some just sounds we make without really thinking about what we're doing? No, those count too. Here's why.

The things we say don’t only convey what we mean to communicate, they also convey things we don’t even know we’re saying. I dive into some language to try to make sense of THAT can of worms. www.martinbihl.com/business-thi... #language #meaning #discoursemarkers

Meet Mr. Product It’s easy to look at these cheery little characters and condescend. “Oh look!” we say, from the sophisticated remove of the 21st century, “How droll! A talking carrot! A happy carburetor! A devilis…

Why #spokescharacters are not #cartooncharacters, but #marketing tools. We review #MeetMrProduct: wp.me/P23AlC-vK #advertising

Episode 12-Ted Johnston Podcast Episode · You're On Mute · 02/29/2024 · 14m

“Anyone can be an artist if you have something in you … where you’re creating something that wasn’t there before.” #TedJohnston on why some people are artists and some are not on episode 12 of #YoureOnMuteThePodcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... #artists #creativity #podcast