The Science of Advertising Show - Details, episodes & analysis

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The Science of Advertising Show

Jonathan Rolley, Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath

Business

Tv & Film

Science

Frequency: 1 episode/5d. Total Eps: 15

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

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Data updated on 17/10/2026

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-cooney-horvath-phd-med-730704b2/
14 shares
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrolley
11 shares
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanrolley/
3 shares

https://www.directresponsemedia.com.au/
14 shares
https://www.athena.com.au
1 share

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Score global : 48%

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The Smartest Use Of AI Yet

Season 1 · Episode 12

Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 51:42

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

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Why Some Ads Feel Creepy

Season 1 · Episode 11

Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 39:42

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

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

Season 1 · Episode 10

Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 53:47

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

This Political Ad Was Made By AI

Season 1 · Episode 13

Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 45:06

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

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How to Make Jingles that Sell

Season 1 · Episode 9

Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 01:01:18

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

Sydney Sweeney Broke The Internet (Again)

Season 1 · Episode 14

Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 40:31

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

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Logos Don't Make You Remember Ads. This Does.

Season 1 · Episode 6

Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 40:39

Most brands spend 90% of their budget on what people say, then wonder why nobody remembers them. Here is the uncomfortable truth. Ipsos tested every distinctive asset you can put in an ad, characters, logos, colours, celebrities, and the single biggest driver of recall was none of them. It was sound. This episode, three ads prove 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

GUESTS
Andy Gaunt from Two Tractors, on the creative craft behind the work.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-gaunt/

Mikey Burrows from Brand Music, who builds the sounds brands get remembered by.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandmusic/

In this episode we break down why sound is the most powerful memory tool in advertising, across three ads. An Adtopsy on Lyka's Poo Glorious Poo, the dog food musical that breaks every category rule. A Brand Wars between AHM and Bupa, one building its own melancholy mnemonic over 20 years, the other renting a nostalgic anthem, and the vampire effect that threatens it. And a GOAT breakdown of the Aflac Duck, the character that turned an unmemorable name into one of the most valuable vocal stamps in advertising history.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro: why sound beats every other asset
01:31 Adtopsy: Lyka's Poo Glorious Poo
19:16 Brand Wars: AHM vs Bupa
32:00 GOAT: The Aflac Duck

Subscribe for a new breakdown every week: @TheScienceOfAdvertisingShow

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescienceofadvertisingshow/

#advertising #marketing #adbreakdown #sonicbranding #scienceofadvertising

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How Brands Hack a Shortcut Into Your Head

Season 1 · Episode 7

Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 37:54

Every category runs the same way. The brand that plants a shortcut in your head, a comparison, a character, a phrase or a sound, wins before you even decide. Once that shortcut takes root, the buying decision is basically over. This episode, three brands take three different bets on it, and one Australian campaign that ran 20 years and rewrote its entire category.

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
Andy Gaunt, co founder of Two Tractors, a creative and production studio built for challenger brands.
Mikey Burrows, founder of Brand Music, a sonic branding studio behind sound identities for brands including Ford, Qantas and Chemist Warehouse.

In this episode we break down the mental shortcuts that decide what you buy. An Adtopsy on carsales, a behind the scenes look with the Two Tractors team at how in house and agency built the work, and how carsales is using AI voice search to own how people actually shop for a car. A Brand Wars in superannuation between Hesta and Aware Super, and why the next generation of retirees will not be spoken to as old. And a GOAT breakdown of Industry SuperFunds Compare the Pair, the comparison shortcut so powerful it rewrote the category and is now taught at Harvard.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro: the shortcut that ends the buying decision
01:07 Adtopsy: carsales, behind the scenes with Two Tractors
11:14 Brand Wars: Hesta vs Aware Super
29:24 GOAT: Industry SuperFunds Compare the Pair

Subscribe for a new breakdown every week: @TheScienceOfAdvertisingShow

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thescienceofadvertisingshow/

#advertising #marketing #adbreakdown #superannuation #scienceofadvertising

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

Season 1 · Episode 8

Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 45:21

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

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How to Design a Billboard That Actually Works

Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 54:08

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

The Science of Advertising Show - Details, episodes & analysis

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The Science of Advertising Show - Details, episodes & analysis

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