The Science of Advertising Show

Jonathan Rolley, Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath

0.0 (0)
Marketing
Updated Bimonthly

Your brain ignores 84% of advertising and forgets most ads in 12 seconds, so this is the show that breaks down why a rare few rewire behaviour instead. Hosted by Jonathan Rolley, author of Brands, Brains & Behaviours, every episode autopsies the ads that actually worked, pits two campaigns head to head, and revisits the legends people still remember decades later

4d ago

How to Design a Billboard That Actually Works

Ten years ago, your brain needed 2.5 seconds to remember an ad. Out on the street today, a billboard gets about one second. So what can you possibly fit in one second, six words, a brand, a sale, or nothing at all? This is Ads in the Wild, powered by The Science of Advertising. We pull a dozen real billboards straight off the streets, count the words, hunt for the brand, and at least one of them is going to fail. HOSTED BY: Jonathan Rolley, CEO of Undivided and host of The Science of Advertising. The show is produced with Undivided, an independent media agency. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrolley GUEST: Josh Gurgiel, who runs creative for the biggest outdoor network in the country, and has spent years on what makes a billboard stop you or slip past you. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-gurgiel-54538347/ In this episode we get into the real rules of outdoor. The one second rule, and why six words or less is the difference between remembered and invisible. Why the best move is almost always to subtract, not add. How the greats use a single hero image instead of overselling, from Uber Eats to Specsavers. Why irreverence and contextual placement, Koala, IKEA, and the famous look up billboards, turn a static poster into something people photograph and share. And why the sharpest outdoor work is really just public art, sponsored by a brand. CHAPTERS 00:00 The one second rule 00:54 From lawyer to outdoor 02:54 Why dwell time changes everything 06:35 Uber Eats: one idea, many executions 14:01 The urge to overcomplicate 18:49 Six words or less 21:18 What grabs attention in the wild 23:41 Use the hero, don't oversell 26:52 Specsavers: stopping you in your tracks 29:23 Koala: irreverence in public space 34:39 IKEA and contextual placement 45:48 The rules worth breaking 53:39 Public art Subscribe for a new breakdown every week: @TheScienceOfAdvertisingShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescienceofadvertisingshow/ #advertising #marketing #outdoor #billboards #scienceofadvertising
4d ago

Sydney Sweeney Broke The Internet (Again)

A Hollywood actress, a betting app almost nobody had heard of, and an ad that broke the internet. Sydney Sweeney, reportedly with equity in the business, fronted a campaign so controversial that fifteen sportswomen publicly came out against it, and it worked. The app shot up the download charts and the whole internet argued about it for a week. We break down why the outrage was the strategy, with a CMO who has spent 30 years behind the brand. HOSTED BY Jonathan Rolley, CEO of Undivided and host of The Science of Advertising. The show is produced with Undivided, an independent media agency. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrolley GUEST Jason Verstak, GM Marketing at Newfurn Floor Coverings, with more than 30 years in marketing. In this episode we get into the Sydney Sweeney betting ad that everyone is talking about. Why a tiny challenger brand put its entire budget on one big, divisive bet to break a US duopoly. Why upsetting the people who were never your customer is what fuels the fame, 71 percent of the market is young men, and the outrage from everyone else is free press. Whether Sweeney evolves into a long term ambassador or it is a one off sugar hit. Then a flooring Brand Wars, Choices Flooring versus Frank Walker National Tiles, prediction break versus problem and solution. A telco war between Dodo and Superloop. And a GOAT that is one of the best ever made, the Bud Light swear jar ad that won an Emmy and never aired, a masterclass in prediction break and humour. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:31 Adtopsy: the Sydney Sweeney betting ad 17:17 Brand Wars: Choices vs Frank Walker National Tiles 31:00 Brand Wars: Dodo vs Superloop 36:00 GOAT: the Bud Light swear jar ad Subscribe for a new breakdown every week: @TheScienceOfAdvertisingShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescienceofadvertisingshow/ #sydneysweeney #advertising #marketing #adbreakdown #scienceofadvertising
4d ago

This Political Ad Was Made By AI

Your brain cannot feel a number, but it can never forget a wave. That one flaw in how we think runs through everything this episode. We autopsy the craft behind a political ad that turned a debt figure into a tsunami of red ink, look at a bold US political stunt, referee a war between two vitamin giants fighting over your feelings, and break down the celebrity playbook that built an empire. Not the politics, the craft. HOSTED BY Jonathan Rolley, CEO of Undivided and host of The Science of Advertising. The show is produced with Undivided, an independent media agency. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrolley GUESTS Alex Newman, co founder of Super Solid. Peter Pynta, Neuro Insights, who reads real brain activity second by second while people watch ads. In this episode we break down why feeling beats fact. An Adtopsy on the Fix Victoria campaign, a purely craft focused look at why a tsunami of red ink is unforgettable while a debt statistic is not, the claims are the campaign's own and the government disputes them, we are here only for the technique. A Brand Wars between Blackmores and Swisse, same shelf, same shoppers, opposite strategies, and why beautiful production does not always build a brand. And a GOAT on Swisse's own playbook, how leveraging an Australian cricket captain's trust, Ricky Ponting, through consistency and novelty and a clean promise and proof structure built an empire, plus why celebrity advertising is one of the highest risk games there is. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:18 Adtopsy: the Fix Victoria ad 15:20 A bold US political stunt 21:11 Brand Wars: Blackmores vs Swisse 38:44 GOAT: Swisse, Ricky Ponting and the celebrity playbook Subscribe for a new breakdown every week: @TheScienceOfAdvertisingShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescienceofadvertisingshow/ #advertising #marketing #adbreakdown #neuromarketing #scienceofadvertising
4d ago

The Smartest Use Of AI Yet

Three Australian banks are running three completely different experiments on your brain. One built its entire brand out of AI-generated animals. One makes saving feel desirable. One goes on the attack against a rival's fine print. But every one of them has the same weakness: they make claims, and claims are cheap. So we finish on the one thing advertising can do that no claim can touch, proof. HOSTED BY Jonathan Rolley, CEO of Undivided and host of The Science of Advertising. The show is produced with Undivided, an independent media agency. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrolley GUESTS Alex Newman, co founder of Super Solid, the agency behind ubank's AI animals campaign, built on a philosophy of return on ideas. Peter Pynta, Neuro Insights, who reads real brain activity second by second while people watch ads. In this episode we break down claim versus proof. An Adtopsy on ubank's Money Done Better, the AI animals, the insight that not everyone is born with instincts for money, and the golden rule for AI in ads: do not notice it, just feel it. A Brand Wars between ING and Macquarie, saving made desirable versus an attack on the fine print, and why both win by playing different roles. And a GOAT that settles it, from Van Damme's Volvo Epic Split, where the stunt is the product, to a marlin glued to a Sydney billboard with Liquid Nails. The idea underneath both goes back to Claude Hopkins in 1923, in Scientific Advertising, the book this show is named after: a claim can be copied tomorrow, a demonstration can only be performed by the product that survives it. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro: three banks, three experiments 01:33 Alex Newman: return on ideas 15:37 Adtopsy: ubank's AI animals 24:14 Neoteny: why we trust cute characters 26:04 Brand Wars: ING vs Macquarie 29:21 The creepy ad effect strikes again 36:18 GOAT: Van Damme and the Epic Split 46:12 Selleys: demonstration beats claim Subscribe for a new breakdown every week: @TheScienceOfAdvertisingShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescienceofadvertisingshow/ #advertising #marketing #ai #adbreakdown #scienceofadvertising
4d ago

Why Some Ads Feel Creepy

Brilliant strategy. Millions in budget. And a tiny execution detail your brain hates that no survey could ever catch. This episode, Peter Pynta reads real brain activity second by second and shows why some of the most beautifully made ads secretly fail, and why one bank quietly wins by promising less. HOSTED BY Jonathan Rolley, CEO of Undivided and host of The Science of Advertising. The show is produced with Undivided, an independent media agency. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrolley GUESTS Peter Pynta, Neuro Insights, who reads real brain activity second by second while people watch ads. Marcus Willis, co founder and CEO of Kill Boring, a social first shop out of Melbourne. In this episode we get into why execution can undo millions in brilliant strategy. An Adtopsy on Cathay Pacific and why leading with world's best economy is a confusing place to sit. The creepy ad effect, the over the shoulder phone shot everyone loves that quietly destroys memory, revealed inside a beautiful Heineken Formula One ad using EEG. A Brand Wars between Bankwest and Great Southern Bank, one going less bank, one selling a fairy tale, and why just enough bank is the smarter position. Plus a GOAT breakdown of the Guinness Surfer ad the boardroom almost refused to run. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 02:11 Adtopsy: Cathay Pacific 09:33 The creepy ad effect: Heineken 21:23 Brand Wars: Bankwest vs Great Southern Bank 33:01 GOAT: Guinness Surfer Subscribe for a new breakdown every week: @TheScienceOfAdvertisingShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescienceofadvertisingshow/ #advertising #marketing #adbreakdown #neuromarketing #scienceofadvertising
4d ago

Three Chicken Brands Went to War. Watch Them Delete Each Other.

Nothing is judged on its own, everything is judged against a comparison, and the smartest brands break the pattern their category is stuck in. This episode, one brand shatters a 50 year convention, and three others crash straight into each other. And for once, the agency behind one of the ads is in the room to defend its own work. HOSTED BY Jonathan Rolley, CEO of Undivided and host of The Science of Advertising. The show is produced with Undivided, an independent media agency. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrolley GUESTS Marcus Willis, co founder and CEO of Kill Boring, a social first shop out of Melbourne whose recent wins include Cathay Pacific and Red Rooster. Peter Pynta, Neuro Insights, who measures brain activity second by second while people watch ads. In this episode we break down two categories and one big idea. An Adtopsy on the IVF category, where every ad for 50 years has ended at the positive test, and why Genea starting the story after the baby is the best insight of the year. Then a chicken Brand Wars between KFC, El Jannah and Red Rooster, three relaunches in six months that all reached for culture and risk deleting each other. We get inside Red Rooster's viral money laundering TikTok with the team who made it, why KFC is winning by owning the whole chicken category, and why humour alone will not put you in the drive through. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro: breaking the category pattern 01:37 Adtopsy: Genea and the IVF category 01:57 The insight: the suspended future 09:14 Declaring who you are vs building trust 15:21 Brand Wars: three chicken brands at war 20:18 Red Rooster's viral TikTok, from the agency 23:42 Who is winning: KFC, El Jannah, Red Rooster 28:52 El Jannah's schema problem 30:02 Sampling: getting new customers in 33:25 Social proof: why empty stores hurt Subscribe for a new breakdown every week: @TheScienceOfAdvertisingShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescienceofadvertisingshow/ #advertising #marketing #adbreakdown #cmo #scienceofadvertising
4d ago

How to Make Jingles that Sell

Audio is the first channel your brain opens, and the last one it ever closes. From newborns recognising a sound they only heard in the womb, to the brain still reacting in its final hours, sound reaches us when nothing else can. So why do most brands treat it as an afterthought? This episode we fix that. HOSTED BY Jonathan Rolley, CEO of Undivided and host of The Science of Advertising. The show is produced with Undivided, an independent media agency. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrolley GUEST Mikey Burrows, founder of Brand Music, who has built some of the most iconic tracks and brand sounds in the Australian landscape, for brands including Ford, Qantas and Chemist Warehouse. In this episode we break down the power of sound in advertising. Why a jingle keeps playing in your head long after the media stops. The rule of three and how it locks a brand into memory. Why the song everyone loves is usually the reason nobody remembers the brand. How KFC is quietly running one of the smartest audio plays in the market by hijacking Christmas, and why the best move did not change a single note, it changed the month. Plus the science of retrieval, why the music you loved at 13 to 17 owns you for life, and how tempo alone can change how a room full of shoppers feels. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro: audio opens first and closes last 02:04 Why sound is always the afterthought 03:20 The rule of three 06:45 How sound locks a name into memory 08:43 Choosing the right emotion 14:56 Why the jingle is back 19:23 What KFC is getting right 22:28 Hijacking Christmas songs 25:38 Owning a moment: KFC 21 Days of Christmas 27:54 The music you loved at 13 to 17 41:03 How tempo changes how you feel 52:35 The most valuable sound a brand can own Subscribe for a new breakdown every week: @TheScienceOfAdvertisingShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescienceofadvertisingshow/ #advertising #marketing #sonicbranding #adbreakdown #scienceofadvertising
4d ago

A Bank, a Furniture War, and the Gym That Beat America

Ads don't work on people. They work on people's brains. And one rule runs through all of it: nothing is ever judged on its own, everything is judged against a comparison, and the brand that chooses the comparison first wins. This episode, three brands make three very different bets on it. HOSTED BY Jonathan Rolley, CEO of Undivided and host of The Science of Advertising. The show is produced with Undivided, an independent media agency. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrolley GUEST Kristian Curcio, founder of Corsa Group, who has driven more than 10,000 ad campaigns across an 18 year career and built Australia's largest green screen studio. In this episode we break down comparison, the force behind every buying decision. An Adtopsy on the Westpac Double You campaign, a fortune spent on a pun that picks no comparison at all. A Brand Wars between King Living and Adriatic, where one brand sells aspiration and the other accidentally sells cheap. And a GOAT breakdown of Planet Fitness, the ten dollar a month gym that conquered America by setting fire to the comparison it was born into. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro: the power of comparison 00:15 Adtopsy: the Westpac W campaign 12:24 Brand Wars: King Living vs Adriatic 32:27 GOAT: Planet Fitness Subscribe for a new breakdown every week: @TheScienceOfAdvertisingShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescienceofadvertisingshow/ #advertising #marketing #adbreakdown #cmo #scienceofadvertising

Your brain ignores 84% of advertising and forgets most ads in 12 seconds, so this is the show that breaks down why a rare few rewire behaviour instead. Hosted by Jonathan Rolley, author of Brands, Brains & Behaviours, every episode autopsies the ads that actually worked, pits two campaigns head to head, and revisits the legends people still remember decades later

Creator

Jonathan Rolley, Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath
Years Active

2020 - 2026
Episodes

15
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2026 The Science of Advertising Show
Show Website

The Science of Advertising Show