Breaking and Entering Advertising Podcast

This week, we are breaking into FIVE difference advertising agencies across the city of San Francisco. Today, Barrett Hofherr, the "Makers of Momentum." We sit down with Partner and Chief Creative Officer, Jamie Barrett, Partner and Chief Strategy Officer, Matt Hofherr, and Partner and Executive Creative Director, Todd Eisner to talk San Francisco, Yellow Door, and a whole lot of advertising. More from Breaking and Entering Media:💼 Follow on LinkedIn⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-entering-podcast/⁠📖 Read our Publications⁠ https://www.breaking-entering.com/blog⁠💬 Join our Unlocked GroupMe⁠ https://groupme.com/join_group/102437585/xg5Z5tei⁠✉️ Subscribe to The Vault⁠ https://breakingandenteringadv.substack.com/⁠📹 Subscribe to our :60 Advertising News Videos⁠ https://breakingandentering.beehiiv.com/⁠🏆 Check out the Crowbar Awards to break into advertising⁠ https://www.crowbarawards.com/⁠🤝 Work With Us - Email: ⁠breakingandentering@smoothmedia.co⁠

Rikesh Lal, Executive Creative Director at Erich & Kallman who has led work for brands like Reese's and Impossible, joins to talk San Francisco's creative roots and agency culture. He explores the city’s countercultural influence, pitching and hiring approaches, making big spots without celebrities, mastering 15-second ads, and how AI fits into creative craft.

Brian Bonilla, Ad Age reporter on agency dynamics. Tim Nudd, Ad Age creativity editor and Super Bowl ad critic. John Evans, System1 chief customer officer who measures emotional ad effectiveness. They break down high-scoring spots, why familiar brand assets win, AI ad performance, standout creative choices, and the widening gap between polished incumbents and risky newcomers.

A tech brand argues ads do not belong inside chat AIs, illustrated by a set of darkly comic Super Bowl shorts. The spot lineup and creative team behind those films are discussed. A major carrier teases nostalgia with the Backstreet Boys in a playful Super Bowl promo. The episode contrasts a trust-driven positioning with an entertainment-first approach to big-game ads.

Jonathan Akwue, President of Translation and culture-focused marketing leader, mixes music roots with brand strategy. He talks about music-driven cultural insight, translating global youth trends into brand value, and using artist data to map cultural flows. Short, sharp stories show how culture becomes real business opportunity.

Meta spotlights AI-enabled smart glasses framed as performance gear with athletes. Uber Eats turns its Super Bowl ad into an in-app game letting users remix footage and add celebrities. OpenAI quietly experiments with advertising inside its AI, testing small beta formats. Brand moves from Chobani and Macy's hint at big creative shifts.

Kristen Cavallo, veteran advertising executive and former CEO turned Executive Director of the Branch Museum of Design. She describes walking 400 miles on the Camino to reset. She explains rebranding a museum, applying agency lessons to institutional identity, and why advertising still matters amid industry change. She reflects on consolidation, creativity beyond agencies, and opportunities in turbulent times.

In this combo episode, we sit down with Barry Dan and Danny Weisman, co-founders of Obsessed Media, to unpack what’s actually broken in modern media buying. From trivia-fueled debates on CPMs and upfronts to a deep dive on principal-based buying, transparency, and why so many brands are over-investing in the wrong channels, this conversation pulls back the curtain on how media really works today. Barry and Danny share why context matters more than hyper-targeting, how challenger brands can escape being “imprisoned by the algorithm,” and what it takes to build a modern media agency built around trust, attention, and impact.More from Breaking and Entering Media:💼 Follow on LinkedIn⁠   / ⁠  📖 Read our Publications⁠ https://www.breaking-entering.com/blog⁠💬 Join our Unlocked GroupMe⁠ https://groupme.com/join_group/102437...✉️ Subscribe to The Vault⁠ https://breakingandenteringadv.substa...📹 Subscribe to our :60 Advertising News Videos⁠ https://breakingandentering.beehiiv.c...🏆 Check out the Crowbar Awards to break into advertising⁠ https://www.crowbarawards.com/⁠🤝 Work With Us - Email: ⁠breakingandentering@smoothmedia.co⁠

Ben Levy is the presentation coach of the ad industry and the person agencies call when they want their ideas to actually land in the room. In this episode, Ben breaks down why most decks are working against you, how to stop killing your own ideas with overbuilt slides, and the simple framework he uses to make presentations clearer, tighter, and more persuasive. He also shares his unconventional path into advertising, what today’s creatives should really focus on when trying to break in, and why learning to present early can completely change your career trajectory. If you have ever sat through a painful pitch or felt your best idea fall flat, this episode is for you.More from Breaking and Entering Media:💼 Follow on LinkedIn⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-entering-podcast/⁠📖 Read our Publications⁠ https://www.breaking-entering.com/blog⁠💬 Join our Unlocked GroupMe⁠ https://groupme.com/join_group/102437585/xg5Z5tei⁠✉️ Subscribe to The Vault⁠ https://breakingandenteringadv.substack.com/⁠📹 Subscribe to our :60 Advertising News Videos⁠ https://breakingandentering.beehiiv.com/⁠🏆 Check out the Crowbar Awards to break into advertising⁠ https://www.crowbarawards.com/⁠🤝 Work With Us - Email: ⁠breakingandentering@smoothmedia.co⁠

This quarter’s Blue Crowbar episode brings together future creatives and one of the most respected leaders in advertising. Fallon CEO, Nikki Baker joins the show to judge the winning campaign from Marisa Brown and Megan Sharpe, two juniors at Marist University who took home Best in Show for their holiday brief for Dollar Tree.The conversation breaks down their insight-driven campaign built around surviving chaotic family holidays, from out-of-home and social to a fully gamified digital experience and a modern twist on the holiday catalog. Nikki shares what made the work stand out, how she would push it further in a real agency setting, and what young creatives should focus on as they prepare to break into the industry.It is a masterclass in turning human truths into a fully realized campaign, plus an inside look at how real creative leaders evaluate student work at the highest level.More from Breaking and Entering Media:💼 Follow on LinkedIn⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/company/breaking-entering-podcast/⁠📖 Read our Publications⁠ https://www.breaking-entering.com/blog⁠💬 Join our Unlocked GroupMe⁠ https://groupme.com/join_group/102437585/xg5Z5tei⁠✉️ Subscribe to The Vault⁠ https://breakingandenteringadv.substack.com/⁠📹 Subscribe to our :60 Advertising News Videos⁠ https://breakingandentering.beehiiv.com/⁠🏆 Check out the Crowbar Awards to break into advertising⁠ https://www.crowbarawards.com/⁠🤝 Work With Us - Email: ⁠breakingandentering@smoothmedia.co⁠