The Brief Bros.

In Part 2 of our conversation with Cameron Day, author of Mad Man. The talk turns from advertising’s past to its uncertain future. Cam teases his next book, ChAIos. It's an irreverent and eye-opening guide to understanding and working with AI in the creative world. Join me and Henry Gomez, your hosts on The Brief Bros. We explore what it means to stay human, and creative, when the machines join the brainstorm.

Advertising veteran Cameron Day joins The Brief Bros.—for the fourth time. This visit, Cam talks about his raw, hilarious, and unfiltered new book, Mad Man: F**ed-Up Tales from the Post-Mad Men Ad Trenches. Henry Gomez and I dive into the wild stories, lessons, and scars from Cam’s four decades in the ad world. It’s a brutally honest look at the business we love—and love to hate. Join us.

We introduced you to Mark Pollard last week. He may be the most traveled teaching strategist on the planet. Mark is known as your "strategy friend." And he's the founder and principal of Sweathead. It's his globe-hopping workshops on advertising strategy. He's back for Part 2  of his conversation with me and Henry Gomez on The Brief Bros.

Mark Pollard may be the most traveled teaching strategist on the planet. He's known as "your strategy friend" and is the founder and principal of Sweathead. It's his globe-hopping workshops on advertising strategy. Mark joined Henry Gomez and me on The Brief Bros. For not one but two chats. All the way from Colombia, South America, between teaching sessions. Mark shares his insights on strategy as well as the challenges of being on the road. And what he's learned about our industry from young strategists around the world. It's a fascinating and educational chat. Join us today for Part 1.

My friend Noel Zamot is our guest this week on The Brief Bros. Noel has never worked in marketing or advertising. What he knows about creative briefs he's learned from talking to me. So why is he a guest this week? Because of Noel's deep training and expertise in a technology that scares a lot of people in our industry: AI. A little background: Noel served as an Air Force Colonel (ret), saw combat in the first Gulf War and in his final tour of duty was the Commandant of the elite Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB in California. That's the school once led by the late General Chuck Yeager. He's also an award-winning novelist and an in-demand speaker on AI in aviation. And now AI as a partner to writers. As an active member of the Florida Writers Association, he will be leading a hands-on AI workshop for writers next month at its annual convention. In our in-depth conversation (Henry Gomez had a prior commitment this week), Noel and I talk about our mutual interests and immersion in what we both believe is a dynamic, inevitable and collaborative technology. He and I both use ChatGPT to assist us in our writing and we talk about this at length. This week's episode is unique in our catalog. You won't want to miss it.

This week on The Brief Bros., Henry Gomez and I share with you five websites rich in data, robust in insight, and reliably credible. Intrepid brief writers, these are your rabit holes. Maybe new ones, maybe old ones you forgot about. And, I throw in a sixth website that I find juicy. You might too. So six great research venues, waiting for diggers to unearth something unexpected. Don't miss this episode!  

Craig Crawford is our guest today on The Brief Bros. He did what many creatives dream about, but few act on. He launched Black Noise, a new creative agency in December 2024. Craig joined Henry Gomez and me to talk about his top-shelf resume. And the fascinating path that took him from native South Africa to LA. Plus Craig and I share a common thread: we both worked at Team One Advertising. We're pretty sure we missed working there together by a matter of weeks. So pull up a chair and meet a stellar creative leader. See first-hand what the future holds for our industry. NOTE TO VIEWERS: Henry and I will be taking a late summer break and will return in mid-September.

You are an advertising agency. You are aware of the existential threat posed by AI. Not only to you, as a creative agency, but also to your industry. Why would you then use this technology, AI, to cheat? In order to win an award? An award some fear—yourself included—might  render your agency, your industry, obsolete by the technology you used to cheat? This is the conundrum Henry Gomez and I dissect today on The Brief Bros.

Henry Gomez and I would not be the Brief Bros. if we didn't bring you compelling insights and informed guests. So we apologize for failing to measure up this week. Instead we underwhelm you with a little puffery. No slight to Henry, who zings with his patented clarity and probity. Me? Well, watch and decide for yourself. And after all, every podcast has the right to throw an intellectual softball...occasionally. Right? The American Eagle–Sydney Sweeney kerfuffle. The good news? The episode is less than 15 minutes.

The author of Truth, Lies and Advertising, Jon Steel, returns to The Brief Bros. And Henry Gomez and I delight in nerding out with Jon, talking strategy, briefs, briefing and AI. Not to mention one of his most celebrated accounts, the got milk? campaign. Plus he talks a bit about cricket. But not too much. We are honored that Jon could return to our show, all the way from Perth, Australia.

Maybe this episode will compel Mark Pollard to find room in his crazy travel schedule and join us on The Brief Bros. Henry Gomez and I can only hope. But first, kudos to Mark for this fun, inspiring and must-have PDF called Creative Briefs 101. Available here from Mark's Instagram page. Today, Henry and I share our thoughts on only three of Mark's unique observations to help brief writers become better. Yeah, it's a tease. But it's a worthy tease, incentive to get you off your butts to get your own copy. And maybe we can flatter Mark with this shameless plug that he'll come on the show.

Eight years after the publication of its white paper, Better Creative Briefs, the Association of National Advertisers released new research in June 2025. And that's our topic today on The Brief Bros. Henry Gomez and I do an overview of their findings. And let me be upfront: I was interviewed and credited in the 51-page PDF. A handful of sampe briefs populate the research, including an example of how to fix a weak brief. Plus survey results and essays by industry leaders on the importance of clear, "brief" briefs. Henry and I agree, except when we disagree. And that means there's lots to unpack here so join us. Bottom line: A big kudos to ANA for updating its conversation about briefs.

Originally aired September 21, 2022 This week, Henry Gomez and I are joined on The Brief Bros. by a luminary in the field of marketing: Professor Mark Ritson. Our guest has earned a well-deserved reputation for pulling no punches in his commentary on and assessment of marketers and their brand management. Plus Henry is an alum of the two wildly popular and well-attended mini-MBA programs Ritson teaches online. And Ritson has the distinction of being both an insightful academic (or ex-academic as he prefers it) who has real-world experience as a marketing consultant for global brands. In this episode, Ritson's keen eye and acerbic wit energize our discussion. He tackles the state of marketing training in the US, when brand purpose makes sense and when it doesn’t and the status of brands in general.

True or false: when you write a brief for a B2B client, you can't use a B2C brief template. It's an oldie but goodie, one I've heard for years. Henry Gomez, too. And perfectly timed after our episode last week about Go Daddy at Cannes. Today on The Brief Bros. we dispel the myths around B2B creative briefs. And we do it in ten minutes. Are they alike? Or are they different? Show us the money and explain! Don't miss this one! There's no Grassy Knoll here, folks.

Special thanks to our friend and loyal viewer Brian Sherwin at Della Famina in New York. Because of Brian, The Brief Bros. discusses a popular win at Cannes. Brian shared a break-down of a Cannes Grand Prix winner in B2B for Go Daddy. The information he shared with me comes from Joe Burns, a noted strategist with an impressive resume. And Henry Gomez and I have a fun conversation. We talk about Joe's analysis of the spot and, oddly enough, how the client originally claimed it didn't need strategy.

A shout-out to our friend and past guest on The Brief Bros., Lance Saunders. He shared with us a fascinating article about The Open Brief. It gave Henry Gomez and me a brilliant topic for today's discussion. And it triggered memories of past lives where we both had experience with a version. Is the open brief a valuable concept, a path to creative innovation? Or an invitation to disaster? Henry and I have fun in our exploration. Where do you stand? Open Brief or Closed Brief?

Our old friend, Chaz Wigley, returns to The Brief Bros. He reminds us why his 100 Things Planners Should Know is a font of wisdom. His insights, collected after decades as a strategist, are the building blocks for a stellar career. Chaz shares his favorites among the 100 Things. But this conversation is mostly about the bigger picture. About where strategy is today, the role of brands, the influence of AI and more. And all from the perspective of an industry insider who is former chairman at BBH Asia.

Returning to our Lightning Round debates, The Brief Bros. today ask: Which is more important on the creative brief—brand truth or human truth? Howard sides with Brand Truth. Henry lines up with Human Truth. In this short episode, we offer insights to help brief writers tackle their next brief. What's in your brief?

Four-plus years in, The Brief Bros. finally get around to asking an important question: When did the creative brief make its first appearance? Henry Gomez did quite a bit of research on this. Because it's what good strategists do. So we decided to do a brief history of the document. Who was the first to use the term, creative brief? Stephen King? Stanley Pollitt? Tune in and find out what we found out. History buffs, this one's for you!

Part Two of The Brief Bros.'s Lightning Round, inspired by my buddy Giles Edwards, who puts his podcast guests through a series of five or six quick-answer questions. So we ask, Which is more important on a brief, the insight or the SMP? Henry Gomez tackles Insight, and I give you my best thinking on the Single-Minded Proposition. Now don't be fooled into thinking one part of the brief is actually more important than the other. Both play their roles. Thanks to Giles's inspiration, Henry and I use the Lightning Round scenario to make our case for each question. Why? To help brief writers think clearer and clearly when they write their next brief. It's a fun concept and we'll be back with more Lightning Rounds. So enjoy this one.