In the Season 3 Finale of Ad Infinitum, host Stew Redwine hands the mic to producer Jeanna Isham for a special editorial episode - no ad roundup, no scoring, no guest interview - just a wide-angle story about the history of audio advertising and why sound has always been the hidden power in advertising, regardless of how it shows up.
Jeanna frames audio history as a monarchy: King Radio establishes the original six “sonic laws” that still govern the medium today - Attention, Trust, Memory, Proximity, Monetization, and the Covenant (the promise not to abuse a listener’s time). Through a “Royal Council” of historians, strategists, and creators - including Kraig Kitchin, Cynthia Meyers, Tom Webster, Paul Riismandel, Arielle Nissenblatt, Shaun Michael Colón, and Dallas Taylor - the episode traces how radio evolved from scarce, centralized broadcast into today’s fragmented, platform-shaped attention economy.
Along the way, the story tracks the transfer of power: from advertisers who once owned the show, to broadcasters who later owned the minutes, to the reality that now rules everything audio and audio advertising - the audience owns the time. Podcasting rises as the rebellious prince built on abundance, intimacy, and active attention. But the same old risks return in new clothes: ad load inflation, disinvestment in voices, and platforms that reward behavior over craft.
The takeaway is both a warning and a blueprint for all audio advertising: the future belongs to the creators, brands, and networks that earn attention fast, protect trust, create memory, stay close to context, monetize without breaking the covenant - and keep building the lane instead of copying the last winner.
Ad Infinitum is Presented by Oxford Road (https://www.linkedin.com/company/oxford-road/) and Produced by Caitlyn Spring (https://www.linkedin.com/in/caitlyn-spring-9614a974/) & Ezra Fox, MFA (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ezrafox/), written & hosted by Stew Redwine (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stewredwine/), and sound designed by John Mattaliano (https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-mattaliano-17a3ab19a/), with audio production by Zach Hahn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/zach-hahn-63a15827/).
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