To celebrate 200 episodes, Tom Goodwin is back on Uncensored CMO. He's got a pretty strong opinion on the state of advertising. It's broken, and we need to fix it. Tom lays out where he thinks it's all gone wrong for the industry and what we can do about it. As uncensored as ever, Tom brings an entertaining and fresh perspective on marketing. Strap in.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:50 - The state of advertising in 2025
02:40 - Why is the advertising industry not moving forward?
06:13 - Brand vs performance marketing
09:20 - What’s broken with marketing in 2025
11:54 - How to actually be customer centric
17:23 - Winning internal battles to allow long term work to thrive
21:18 - Is performance marketing fraud?
26:23 - How to make advertising better
33:02 - Are we valuing creativity enough

In partnership with NBCUniversal, we sit down with Kory Marchisotto, CMO of e.l.f. Beauty, to unpack a 25 quarters of consecutive growth. From their bold “So Many Dicks” campaign to the $1B Rhode deal with Hailey Bieber, Kory shares how e.l.f. built a culture that fuels growth. We also dive into the power of creators and celebrities in beauty, partnerships with sporting icons like Billie Jean King and racing driver Katherine Legge, and the realities of leading as a high-growth, publicly listed CMO.

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
00:40 - The last decade of Elf
01:35 - The Titanium and Glass Cannes Lions entry
03:01 - Elf’s “So Many Dicks” campaign
10:01 - The secret to 25 quarters of consecutive growth
13:36 - Building a culture that allows growth
17:03 - $1b Rhode deal
24:26 - How important are creators and celebrities in building beauty brands
26:37 - Collaborating with Billie Jean King
30:49 - Partnering with Katherine Legge, racing driver
34:16 - The realities of being a high growth, publicly listed CMO

Simon Morris is Adobe’s VP of International Marketing, joins us to share how Adobe is empowering creativity at scale. We discuss the impact of AI on marketing, why creativity will always need human skills, and how Adobe partners with brands like Real Madrid to build iconic campaigns. Simon also shares what makes a great marketing leader today, how to launch products successfully, and what’s next for AI and creators.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Intro
00:43 - The size of the Cannes activation for Adobe
01:38 - Simon’s marketing career
04:21 - Adobe’s CEO named creative champion of the year
05:46 - Where has AI had the biggest impact in marketing?
08:14 - Will AI replace creativity?
09:35 - Where will human skills be most required in the age of AI?
14:21 - How Adobe are their own customer
15:10 - What campaigns have been made with Adobe’s own software?
16:19 - How brands can work with creators?
17:59 - Freedom for creators vs sticking to guidelines
19:16 - How to successfully launch a new product
20:59 - Partnering with sports teams to build their brand (Real Madrid)
23:25 - Maintaining trust in Adobe AI products, with potential IP worries
26:16 - Whats the next thing in AI we need to pay attention to?
28:37 - Building a brand for long term when the world is increasingly short term
29:56 - What makes a great marketing leader today?