From eyeballs to eardrums.

By Gonzalo López Martí – Creative Director
www.LopezMartiMiami.com/

• I never thought I’d say this: super productions are losing steam.
• I love explosions, car chases, and CGI as much as the next guy.
• Problem is, blockbusting, thrill-seeking, pulsating acrobatics &/or sophisticated special effects have become a tired trope.
• Think Red Bull.
• Think Mr. Beast.
• Think OK Go.
• Think superhero franchises.
• Special effects are just too easy these days.
• Particularly with the aid of artificial intelligence.
• We’ve become blasé about the whole thing.
• Hey, I was a huge fan of Red Bull extreme sports content.
• It was epochal.
• Coca-Cola was my client for a while and, lemme tell ya, they were plenty preoccupied with them skinny cans.
• Me I was not scared, just jealous.
• I used to seethe with envy every time the Austrian energy drink manufacturer dropped one of those gravity-defying, flirting-with-death extravaganzas.
• Sky diving, motocross, off-piste suicidal skiing.
• Eyeballs, eyeballs, eyeballs.
• The epitome of earned media.
• It paid off handsomely for the brand.
• Evel Knievel for the 21st century.
• Problem is, how many iterations of some dude jumping off a cliff can you put out there and still get millions of eyeballs?
• Just askin’.
• It kinda becomes repetitive.
• IMHO the brand has fallen victim of a typical case of audience capture and feedback loop.
• In the very near future AI will become undistinguishable from live action it will render the Red Bull formula obsolete.
• So.
• If super productions are over, what’s next?

Discontented

• Had someone told me ten years ago that podcasts were going to be so big I would’ve laughed ten minutes straight.
• Two or three dudes shooting the breeze.
• With a mike and headsets for all equipment.
• AM talk radio with better sound quality.
• It hardly is about information.
• Listeners tune it to these rambling conversations seeking much needed company.
• Soothing white noise for solitary folk.
• ASMR.
• A massage for the eardrums.
• The modern malady is not boredom, it’s loneliness.
• Misery needs company.
• The average urbanite needs white noise to occupy the solitude in his/her head.
• Nature abhors a vacuum.
• Various companies that know a thing or two about our collective behavioral tendencies, namely Spotify and Apple, are investing heavily in expanding their podcast repertoires.
• There are lots of podcast niches: self-help, bro culture, business intel, true crime, gossip, conspiracy theories, hobbyists (think wine enthusiasts, sports junkies, health nuts, scifi fanboys, gamers).
• Mel Robbins, Joe Rogan, Barstool sports, Serial, Call her Daddy, Crime Junkie, SmartLess, Huberman Lab, Acquired, etc, etc.
• What’s your podcast of choice?