This week, Joe opens the show with a quick take on the banning of “AI Fruit Love Island” and can’t believe Robert isn’t already a loyal subscriber.

Joe and Robert then dig into a landmark legal verdict against social media platforms, focusing on Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube. The big shift? Instead of the usual failed arguments around Section 230, these new cases are targeting platform design itself, claiming the products were intentionally built to be addictive. Joe and Robert discuss whether this could become a true “big tobacco” moment for social media, with larger legal and financial consequences ahead.

Next up, OpenAI shuts down Sora after the Disney deal. Is this a warning sign for OpenAI’s long-term strategy, or just a simple business decision to cut a product that wasn’t generating revenue and was draining resources? Joe and Robert break it down. Plus, OpenAI hires a new ad chief (which is always a good sign, right?).

Finally, TikTok rolls out new video advertising programs at NewFronts, and Joe and Robert see it as more evidence of a race to the bottom in digital media.

Marketing Losers of the Week
Robert looks at the Publicis versus The Trade Desk battle.
Joe calls out Apple for confirming that ads are coming to Apple Maps.

Rants and Raves
Robert shares thoughts on courts temporarily allowing Perplexity AI shopping agents on Amazon.
Joe raves about the greatness of Rick Rubin and why his approach may tell us something important about the AI future.

Subscribe and Follow:
Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing. 

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This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts.  All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.

Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.

-------

Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.

Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/ 
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/

-------

This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork

A new piece from the Wall Street Journal introduces the idea of being “alternatively influential”…people who drive real impact without massive follower counts.

Joe and Robert break it down:

• Is this just a rebrand of “niche creator” or “thought leader”?

• Or is it actually the future of influence in an AI-saturated world?

• And most importantly…does audience size matter less than trust, proximity, and credibility?

The bigger question: Are we entering an era where being known by the right people beats being known by everyone?

AI Isn’t Just Helping…It Might Be Hurting

A new Morning Brew piece highlights research showing that AI can actually decrease focus and increase mental fatigue when overused.

Key findings:

• Productivity rises with 1–3 AI tools…then drops off after that

• Workers report “mental overload” and decision fatigue

• Time saved gets filled with more work, not better work

Joe and Robert’s take:

• This isn’t really about AI

• It’s about multitasking overload

• AI just accelerates a problem we already had

Bottom line: More tools ≠ better thinking
Focus is still the competitive advantage

Substack Goes Full Stack (Again)

Substack continues expanding its platform, now rolling out a recording studio feature to support video and podcast creation.

The discussion:

• Substack is no longer “just newsletters”

• It’s becoming a complete creator operating system

• Email platforms, podcast hosts, and even YouTube should be paying attention

The real question: Does Substack become the home base for creators…or just another tool in the stack?

Winners and Losers

Marketing Winner: Calvin Klein

• Dakota Johnson’s new campaign hits the mark

• Clean, simple, effective brand storytelling that cuts through the noise

Marketing Loser: The Oscars

• Still struggling to stay culturally relevant

• A branding problem, not just a ratings problem

Marketing Loser (Joe): World Baseball Classic Timing

• Great product…questionable timing

• Hard to build momentum when the schedule works against you

Rants and Raves

Joe’s Rant: Why Team USA Lost to Venezuela

Joe’s hot take:

• It wasn’t about effort

• It was about constraints

Team USA had:

• Contracts

• Pitch limits

• Usage concerns

• Calls from MLB teams

Meanwhile, Venezuela had:

• Fewer restrictions

• More freedom to just play

The lesson: The team with less to manage often performs better

Robert’s Rave: Where AI Actually Gets Its Content

Robert highlights a new piece on AI sourcing:

• AI doesn’t create from nothing

• It builds on existing human work

• The real leverage is still in original thinking and creation 
  
  

Other links: Mel Robbins with Seth Godin

Subscribe and Follow:
Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing. 

-------

This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts.  All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.

Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.

-------

Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.

Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/ 
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/

-------

This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork

This week, Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose dig into fascinating new research from Anthropic that reveals how large language models are already capable of executing many traditional marketing tasks. The conversation quickly turns into a deeper question. Is the real disruption AI itself, or the fact that many leaders in mid-size and enterprise organizations never truly valued marketing in the first place? If machines can now execute the tactics, what happens to marketing teams that were already fighting for credibility inside their organizations?

The discussion explores what the research means for the future of marketing roles, how AI will reshape tactical execution, and whether strategy, creativity, and trust-building become the true competitive advantages. As usual, Joe and Robert have plenty of opinions and a few laughs along the way.

In other news, Meta makes another big move by acquiring Moltbook. Is this a calculated, low-risk gamble from the tech giant, or does the move signal growing pressure in the AI platform race?

Meanwhile, LinkedIn content is increasingly appearing in responses from AI chatbots and generative search tools. Joe and Robert discuss what this shift means for marketers and content creators trying to remain visible as discovery moves away from traditional search engines.

Winners and Losers

Winner #1:
Tecovas: A clever follow-up short film connected to a Super Bowl ad campaign shows how brands can extend the life of expensive tentpole advertising.

Winner #2:
Coinbase launches its new “NPC Break-Free” campaign that will run during the Academy Awards, taking a bold creative swing at culture, conformity, and crypto skepticism.

Rants and Raves

Robert dives into BlackRock and the fallout surrounding its private credit strategy, raising questions about risk and transparency.

Joe closes the show with a rant about a stunning operational blunder by United States national baseball team during the World Baseball Classic.

Subscribe and Follow:
Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing. 

-------

This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts.  All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.

Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.

-------

Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.

Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/ 
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/

-------

This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork

It was a wild week in artificial intelligence. Joe and Robert break down a surprising stumble from OpenAI and the aggressive counter-moves coming from Anthropic. The hosts unpack what these developments signal for the broader AI landscape and why the growing concentration of power among a small number of platforms should concern marketers and creators alike. If a handful of companies ultimately control how AI works and how it distributes information, that likely tells us exactly where marketing is headed as well.

Along the way, Joe and Robert offer a few friendly suggestions to Sam Altman on how he might rethink his public communication strategy during moments of controversy and rapid change.

Next, the show shifts to a supposed social media “problem” involving the CEO of McDonald's on Instagram. Except… it wasn’t really a problem at all. Joe and Robert argue the episode was actually a major brand win. The bigger lesson? Companies should stop hiding their quirky, weird, and interesting employees. Celebrating authentic personalities inside organizations may be one of the most underused marketing advantages available today.

The conversation then moves into the exploding trend of 90-second serialized dramas dominating short-form video platforms. What started as a niche format is quickly becoming a global phenomenon, reshaping storytelling and opening the door to entirely new forms of brand entertainment.

Winners and Losers

Joe highlights the creative marketing moves coming from Staples and why the brand may be onto something smart in a crowded retail environment. Robert, meanwhile, calls out what he believes was a strategic misstep from global advertising giant WPP.

Rants and Raves

Joe raves about a growing opportunity inspired by a recent article in The Wall Street Journal on the rise of subscription mail products and why creators should pay close attention to physical experiences in a digital world.

And in a rare twist, Robert offers praise for the research and insights coming from Gartner… something listeners may not have expected.

As always, Joe and Robert break down what it all means for marketers trying to build sustainable media brands in a world increasingly shaped by platforms, AI, and shifting audience behavior.

Subscribe and Follow:
Follow Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose on LinkedIn for insights, hot takes, and weekly updates from the world of content and marketing. 

-------

This week's sponsor:

Did you know that most businesses only use 20% of their data? That's like reading a book with most of the pages torn out. Point is, you miss a lot.

Unless you use HubSpot.

Their customer platform gives you access to the data you need to grow your business. The insights trapped in emails, call logs, and transcripts.  All that unstructured data that makes all the difference. Because when you know more, you grow more.

Visit https://www.hubspot.com/ to hear how HubSpot can help you grow better.

-------

Get all the show notes: https://www.thisoldmarketing.com/

Get Joe's new book, Burn the Playbook, at http://www.joepulizzi.com/books/burn-the-playbook/
Subscribe to Joe's Newsletter at https://www.joepulizzi.com/signup/.

Get Robert Rose's new book, Valuable Friction, at https://robertrose.net/valuable-friction/ 
Subscribe to Robert's Newsletter at https://seventhbearlens.substack.com/

-------

This Old Marketing is part of the HubSpot Podcast Network: https://www.hubspot.com/podcastnetwork