Brand Strategy & Advertising

Bob Batchelor
  • 0.0 (0)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Brand Strategy & Advertising examines how brands work by connecting 125 years of advertising history to today. Hosted by Bob Batchelor, PhD, cultural historian, creative executive, and communication professor at Coastal Carolina University, the podcast brings the ad world to life (think Mad Men!) and uses it as a lens for studying what makes branding, public relations, and marketing tick today. You'll learn brand strategy the way strategists actually think: by studying patterns across time and observing brands in action. Perfect for listeners who love history, advertising, and culture.

Episodes

  1. FEB 11

    The Soap Opera Strategy: How P&G Built Branded Content 90 Years Before YouTube

    When your favorite YouTube creator says "this video is brought to you by Squarespace" and spends 90 seconds weaving the brand into their content, they're executing a strategy Procter & Gamble invented in 1932. On the radio. To sell laundry detergent. The model hasn't changed in 90 years. The medium has. In this episode, Bob Batchelor traces how one of the most consequential advertising innovations was born in Depression-era radio, nearly destroyed by the arrival of television, and ultimately rebuilt into the dominant content strategy powering every platform deal, creator sponsorship, and branded series you encounter today. In 1930s America, Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and Lever Brothers didn't buy advertising time on radio programs. They owned the programs outright. The brand didn't interrupt the content — the brand was the content. Why did this work? Habit formation. Audiences tuned in every single day to follow serialized storylines, and the sponsor's message arrived with every episode. The product became emotionally fused with the narrative. By the late 1930s, soap operas were more profitable than any other radio genre — so profitable that NBC executives proposed using daytime advertising revenue to subsidize the entire network and run prime time commercial-free. This is the identical mechanism behind every podcast subscription, every Netflix cliffhanger, every creator building a devoted audience before dropping a sponsor mention. The loop is the same. P&G engineered it first. Meet Irna Phillips — the most important advertising innovator most people have never heard of. Phillips created The Guiding Light, The Road of Life, and multiple radio hits. Unlike almost everyone else in broadcasting, she owned the rights to her shows. When television arrived, Phillips saw the future instantly. In 1948, she pitched ad agencies on a television serial where a main character would work for one of the sponsor's companies, weaving product messaging organically into storylines. She was describing influencer marketing and native advertising in 1948. Sponsors said no. Television production cost more than double what radio required. But the deeper problem was structural: sponsors realized they could rotate multiple brands through a single expensive production, rather than owning one show per brand. Phillips kept fighting. She launched These Are My Children in 1949 — television's first soap opera. It lasted four weeks. But even in four weeks, fans wrote in demanding to know what happened to the characters. The emotional hook worked. By 1952, The Guiding Light was on CBS television. By 1956, As the World Turns premiered as a 30-minute serial and became one of the most watched shows on daytime TV. By 1964, advertisers were spending $103 million on CBS daytime programming alone. By 1965, daytime revenues accounted for more than 60% of the three networks' total profits. Here's the part every brand strategist needs to understand: P&G didn't just pay for the shows. They controlled them. P&G established its own production division in 1949. YouTube's advertiser-friendly content guidelines that demonetize certain topics? Instagram's content moderation shaped by advertiser pressure? That's P&G's 1952 daytime editorial standards, automated and scaled. Habit formation beats impression buying. Owning content beats buying time in it. And brand and narrative fuse in audience memory whether the audience notices or not. Red Bull's media company, Patagonia's documentaries, Nike's films — they're all following a playbook P&G wrote before television existed. Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian, editor of the three-volume anthology "We Are What We Sell: How Advertising Shapes American Life," and author of more than a dozen books. His analysis has appeared in The New York Times, NPR, BBC, and PBS NewsHour. SUBSCRIBE for weekly episodes connecting 125 years of advertising history to the strategies shaping brands today.

    14 min

  2. FEB 6

    Advertising Through Crisis: Why Depression-Era Strategies Never Stopped Working

    Advertising Through Crisis: Why Depression-Era Strategies Never Stopped Working What do the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 pandemic recession, and 2023 inflation have in common? They all triggered the exact same advertising playbook created during the Great Depression. The industry nearly collapsed. Agencies cut salaries, eliminated jobs, and watched clients disappear. But the best advertisers didn't just survive—they figured out how to sell products to people with no money. And the strategies they invented became the recession playbook for the next 90 years. In this episode, Bob Batchelor, PhD, Assistant Professor at Coastal Carolina University, reveals why every economic crisis since the 1930s follows the same predictable pattern, and why understanding Depression-era advertising makes you better at analyzing brands in any economy. Learn how advertising transforms during economic disaster through four predictable shifts. From aspiration to value: 1930s ads sold survival and necessity. The 1930 Parker Pen ad didn't emphasize status—it hammered "two pens for the price of one" and justified the $8.50 price through relentless value messaging. This is exactly what happened in 2008 when McDonald's emphasized their Dollar Menu and Walmart adopted "Save Money. Live Better." From luxury to necessity: Depression-era brands reframed products as essential, not optional. Hoover didn't sell vacuums, they sold time, energy, and peace of mind for just "$6.25 down, balance monthly." During the 2020 pandemic, meal delivery services stopped selling convenience and started selling safety. Zoom didn't sell video conferencing—they sold connection during isolation. Same strategy, different crisis. Fear and guilt as persuasion: Depression-era copywriters deliberately invoked shame via what scholar Roland Marchand called advertising "fables." These were guilt trips designed to make desperate people spend money to avoid social shame. It worked. Optimism through imagery: Art directors countered despair with visual hope. You saw this exact strategy in 2020 pandemic ads: "We're all in this together," frontline workers as heroes, community resilience imagery. Discover how Kellogg's crushed Post by doing the opposite of playing it safe. When the Depression hit, Post cut their advertising budget. Kellogg doubled theirs. They launched Rice Krispies, advertised heavily on radio, and innovated products specifically for crisis consumers—like Kaffee Hag decaffeinated coffee you could drink to ease Depression-era anxiety. By decade's end, Kellogg dominated. Post never recovered. Chrysler entered the Depression as the third-largest automaker. Instead of cutting costs and waiting, they launched Plymouth—a new brand targeted at the low-end market emphasizing value plus quality, safety plus innovation. By 1933, Chrysler became the second-largest automaker in North America. The lesson? Multiple studies confirm that companies maintaining or increasing advertising during recessions outperform competitors that go silent. When everyone disappears, the brands that keep talking dominate the conversation. Out of sight, out of mind isn't just a saying—it's strategic reality. WHY THIS MATTERS FOR BRAND STRATEGISTS TODAY Every recession reveals which brands understand crisis advertising and which don't. You'll learn the four-question framework for analyzing any brand during economic uncertainty: Are they emphasizing value over aspiration? Reframing products as necessities? Using fear or guilt (subtly or overtly)? Providing optimistic imagery to counter anxiety? Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian and editor of We Are What We Sell: How Advertising Shapes American Life, the three-volume anthology that serves as this podcast's foundation. His analysis has appeared in The New York Times, NPR, BBC, and PBS NewsHour. SUBSCRIBE for weekly episodes connecting 125 years of advertising history to contemporary brand strategy.

    20 min

  3. JAN 30

    The Cartoon Characters That Sold America: More than a Century of Visual Brand Strategy

    Quick test: Close your eyes and picture the Michelin Man. You see him instantly, right? That puffy white tire character has been selling tires since 1898—that's 127 years. Mr. Peanut has been tipping his top hat since 1916. These cartoon characters have survived two world wars, the Great Depression, the invention of television, the internet revolution, and the TikTok era. Meanwhile, Burger King's creepy "King" mascot crashed and burned after just six years. Gap changed their logo in 2010 and reverted within one week after massive backlash. What separates brand icons that endure for a century from expensive marketing disasters that get abandoned? In this episode of Brand Strategy & Advertising, Coastal Carolina University faculty member Bob Batchelor, reveals the hidden strategy behind visual brand identity that most marketers miss. You'll discover why some brands succeed with cartoon mascots, while others fail, why consistency beats cleverness, and what the Michelin Man can teach you about building brands in 2025. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN Discover the strategic genius behind iconic mascots that changed advertising forever. The Michelin Man wasn't just cute—he literally embodied the product (made of tires) and communicated safety and reliability without words. Perfect for an era when many consumers couldn't read. The Morton Salt Girl solved a real product problem: demonstrating that their salt pours even in humid weather through one unforgettable image. Mr. Peanut elevated an ordinary legume to sophisticated status with a monocle, top hat, and cane—positioning strategy in cartoon form. Learn why Ivory Soap built a 140-year brand without a mascot. Instead, they mastered visual consistency: white soap, white packaging, clean design, "99 and 44/100 percent pure." Every year they didn't radically redesign, their brand equity deepened. This is the power of consistency most modern brands ignore when chasing trends. You'll discover why the M&Ms characters (around since the 1950s) thrive on social media today, why Progressive's Flo has succeeded, why the Geico Gecko makes boring insurance memorable—and why Burger King's dead-eyed plastic King became nightmare fuel that had to disappear. Get Batchelor's framework for analyzing any brand's visual identity. Three strategic questions: What values does this visual system communicate? How long has it been consistent and what does that signal? Would this brand be better or worse without this element? WHY THIS MATTERS NOW In an era of constant change, the brands that endure understand a secret: visual consistency is a competitive advantage that compounds over time. While competitors chase every trend and redesign every few years, brands like Coca-Cola, IBM, and Nike accumulate decades of visual equity that becomes nearly impossible to replicate. Whether you're a marketing professional, brand strategist, student, or entrepreneur building your own brand, this episode gives you frameworks for making smarter visual identity decisions. Dr. Batchelor also reveals why luxury brands like Rolex and Louis Vuitton never use mascots and how modern mascots like Progressive's Flo balance consistency with adaptability in the social media age. ABOUT YOUR HOST Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian and author of more than a dozen books including the award-winning Roadhouse Blues and The Bourbon King. He's the editor of the three-volume anthology We Are What We Sell: How Advertising Shapes American Life, which serves as the foundation for this podcast. His analysis has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, BBC, NPR, and PBS NewsHour, among countless other outlets. SUBSCRIBE to Brand Strategy & Advertising for weekly episodes connecting 125 years of advertising history to contemporary brand strategy.

    22 min

  4. JAN 17

    Why Advertising History Matters -- Patterns That Never Die

    That Instagram ad you saw this morning? It's using persuasion tactics from 1895. The ad before your YouTube video? That emotional storytelling structure was perfected in the 1930s. In this inaugural episode of Brand Strategy & Advertising, cultural historian and author Bob Batchelor, PhD reveals why advertising doesn't really change—only the medium does—and why understanding 125 years of advertising history gives you a strategic superpower most people lack. Discover the three major forces that made advertising the heart of consumer capitalism between 1930-1975: how consumption became identity, how every new technology gets weaponized for selling, and how advertising became art. Learn about Mary Wells Lawrence's revolutionary Braniff Airlines "Air Strip" campaign, Eisenhower's Cold War propaganda using American consumerism as a weapon, and why Coca-Cola's 1971 "I'd Like to Buy the World a Coke" wasn't just a commercial—it was cultural storytelling at its finest. Batchelor introduces a practical three-question framework for analyzing any advertisement: What's the underlying strategy? What's the historical precedent? How has it adapted to current culture? You'll learn why influencer marketing is just 1920s celebrity endorsements repackaged, why "storytelling in advertising" isn't new (hello, 1930s soap operas), and why pattern recognition separates strategists from people who just react to trends. This episode explores uncomfortable truths about manipulation and desire-creation while building the critical thinking skills that make you valuable in an AI-saturated world. Technical skills become commoditized, but human judgment—the ability to recognize patterns across time and predict what works based on cultural context—remains irreplaceable. ABOUT YOUR HOST: BOB BATCHELOR Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian and Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, & Culture at Coastal Carolina University. He's the author of 16 books exploring American culture, celebrity, and branding, including acclaimed biographies of Stan Lee, John Updike, Bob Dylan, and bootleg kind of Prohibition George Remus. He recently wrote Roadhouse Blues: Morrison, the Doors, and the Death Days of the Sixties, which won the 2023 Independent Book Award for Music. With Keith Booker, Bob wrote Mad Men: A Cultural History, a critically-acclaimed history of the television show using the ad industry as a lens for understanding American Culture. Bob is also the co-editor of the three-volume anthology We Are What We Sell: How Advertising Shapes American Life...And Always Has (Praeger, 2014), which serves as the foundation for this podcast. His work has been translated into twelve languages and featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, BBC, NPR, PBS NewsHour, and the National Geographic Channel. Bob has been quoted in thousands of publications reaching billions of readers worldwide. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of South Florida. Through this podcast, Bob makes rigorous academic analysis accessible to anyone interested in understanding how advertising actually works—connecting historical patterns to contemporary practice in every episode. Whether you're a student, marketing professional, or simply curious about how brands shape culture, you'll gain frameworks for critical thinking that AI can't replicate. Subscribe to Brand Strategy & Advertising for weekly episodes exploring 125 years of advertising history and its profound implications for how we understand brands, culture, and ourselves today.

    28 min

  5. JAN 13

    Brand Strategy & Advertising, Hosted by Bob Batchelor -- Preview

    Welcome to Brand Strategy & Advertising! This introductory episode walks you through everything you need to know about how the podcast—and the course it supports—will help you understand how brands really work. Here's the core concept: We're studying 125 years of advertising history to decode contemporary brand strategy. Each episode connects historical case studies—drawn from the three-volume anthology We Are What We Sell: How Advertising Shapes American Life—to current brand practice. The course introduces a unique "living case study" approach: students select one contemporary brand and track it all semester, applying weekly historical insights to real-time observations. By studying one brand deeply over 15 weeks, you build unique expertise. Key topics include early advertising and consumer desire, iconic brand symbols, crisis-era messaging, the golden age of radio and product placement, post-war consumer culture, generational marketing, social consciousness in advertising, feminist messaging controversies, counterculture commodification, David Ogilvy's timeless principles, Nike's brand evolution, Starbucks' use of language and power to build community, and digital/viral marketing transformation. Whether you're enrolled in PRSC 326 at Coastal Carolina University or interested in understanding how brands shape culture and influence behavior, this podcast gives you frameworks for analyzing any brand you encounter. You'll learn to think like a brand strategist: recognizing patterns across time, understanding what works and why, and developing judgment that transfers to any career. Subscribe now and never look at advertising the same way again. Dr. Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian, biographer, and Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, & Culture at Coastal Carolina University. He specializes in American cultural history, brand strategy, advertising, and celebrity culture. Bob is the author of 16 books, including acclaimed biographies of Stan Lee, John Updike, and Bob Dylan, as well as The Bourbon King: The Life and Crimes of George Remus, Prohibition's Evil Genius and Roadhouse Blues: Morrison, the Doors, and the Death Days of the Sixties. His work has been translated into twelve languages. Bob is the editor of the three-volume anthology We Are What We Sell: How Advertising Shapes American Life...And Always Has (Praeger, 2014), which serves as the historical foundation for this podcast (more than 1 million words on ad history in American culture). Bob's media commentary has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, BBC, NPR, PBS NewsHour, and the National Geographic Channel. He has been quoted in thousands of national and international publications, reaching audiences in the billions. Bob holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of South Florida and degrees in History from Kent State University and History, Philosophy, and Political Science from the University of Pittsburgh. Through this podcast, Bob makes rigorous academic analysis accessible to anyone interested in understanding how advertising and brand strategy actually work—connecting historical patterns to contemporary practice in every episode. Follow Bob at bobbatchelor.com or connect on social media for insights on brands, culture, and communication strategy, including LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobpbatchelor

    15 min
  • 5 Episodes

About

Brand Strategy & Advertising examines how brands work by connecting 125 years of advertising history to today. Hosted by Bob Batchelor, PhD, cultural historian, creative executive, and communication professor at Coastal Carolina University, the podcast brings the ad world to life (think Mad Men!) and uses it as a lens for studying what makes branding, public relations, and marketing tick today. You'll learn brand strategy the way strategists actually think: by studying patterns across time and observing brands in action. Perfect for listeners who love history, advertising, and culture.

Information