Uncensored CMO

After collaborating with Worldwide Partners on the Confessions of a CMO report (the anonymous report asking top tier CMOs what they really think about the state of the role), I thought I'd team up with the world's most opinionated professor to discuss some of the comments. We talk tenure, politics, management and more.
Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:04 - How the Uncensored CMO started
02:41 - How Confessions of a CMO originated
03:44 - The CMO tenure data
06:35 - Why the CMO role isn’t dead, it’s just changing
12:02 - The real 4 Ps of a CMO
18:57 - Becoming the Chief Mood Officer
22:16 - Why marketing needs to provide the meaning for the business
27:04 - Why CMOs need to combine data and storytelling
28:38 - Why CMOs need to create momentum
40:53 - Were there any surprises from the report?
About Worldwide Partners:
Worldwide Partners, Inc. (WPI), the world’s most collaborative agency network, enables growth through access, flexibility and partnership. With over 90 independent agencies in more than 50 countries, and experience in over 90 industry verticals, Worldwide Partners serves as a hub that harnesses the talent, expertise and diversified capabilities of the agencies within our network to reimagine growth for both brands and agencies.

Listen to the launch episode of my brand new show, Uncensored Renegades, co-hosted with Kory Marchisotto, CMO of e.l.f. and a previous guest on Uncensored CMO.
Listen to the new show here:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
In Uncensored Renegades, we talk about the things most people are too afraid to discuss: being fired, failure, terrible bosses, and more.

Get to know your hosts, Jon Evans and Kory Marchisotto, hear why we started the show, and find out what’s coming next.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:06 - Background to Uncensored Renegades
01:59 - Why Renegades?
02:39 - The response to Jon’s launch post
05:48 - What topics will be discussed on the show?
08:47 - The partnership that led to the podcast
11:50 - Why the name “Renegades”?
13:54 - Getting to know Jon and Kory
27:45 - What do you do to recharge?
38:33 - Inspiring books
41:32 - Crowdsourcing topic ideas

Our most popular guest ever is back - Rory Sutherland returns for a wide-ranging conversation on why marketing works best when it embraces luck, spontaneity, and a little irrationality. From the dangers of confected outrage and self-censorship to the unfair economics of marketing, Rory challenges the industry’s obsession with logic, optimisation, and process.
We discuss why success is often misunderstood as skill rather than luck, the value of doing a few things irresponsibly, and why inefficiency can be a feature rather than a flaw. As ever, Rory connects behavioural science, creativity, and business reality in ways few others can.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:16 - How Rory deals with his new micro fame
03:12 - How Jon shut down the London Underground
07:04 - The problem with confected outrage
10:34 - How self-censoring is affecting creativity
12:10 - The power of spontaneity and luck in advertising
16:03 - The unfair economics of marketing
20:54 - Is success just luck?
23:12 - Spend 95% responsibly, and 5% irresponsibly
30:12 - Doubling down on what your competitors do badly
34:32 - Why so many businesses are no longer customer focused
35:29 - Inefficiency as a feature
37:08 - The power of herd mentality
43:26 - What marketers can teach the business world
48:13 - Why internal process is killing businesses
51:15 - Lessons from 200 years of The Spectator advertising
54:47 - Rory’s closing thoughts on marketing

Les Binet and Sarah Carter are back for our yearly special, tacking the biggest marketing stories of the year and what to focus on in 2026. We explore the power of consistency, disguised repetition, and why brands so often misunderstand campaigns. Les and Sarah explain why big brands can’t behave like small ones (and vice versa), how marketers can persuade businesses to invest more in the long term, and whether we’re seeing the end of the purpose era and a return to product-led growth. We also look ahead to the role of AI versus craft in advertising, and what the evidence suggests for the year ahead.
Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
00:38 - The year of consistency
05:26 - Disguised repetition
11:13 - Do we define campaigns wrong?
12:27 - Why you need to go big on your media spend
17:07 - Why big brands can’t market like small brands and vice versa
23:15 - How can you persuade your business to spend more
28:52 - Why don’t we do the long term work, despite the evidence
34:19 - Why everyone is wrong about CMO tenure
37:18 - Have we seen the end of the purpose era? (and the renaissance of product)
44:50 - AI vs craft in advertising

In this special crossover episode, we’re joined by Jimmy McLoughlin, host of Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future, to explore the intersection of politics, media, and marketing. Jimmy shares how he built one of the UK’s most influential political podcasts, landed interviews with the Prime Minister, and why big podcasts now rival traditional media in shaping public opinion.
We also compare the most impactful episodes from both shows, debate trust in marketing and politics, unpack why some of today’s biggest tech brands struggle with branding, and make the case for humour in advertising.
Timestamps
00:00 - Start
01:37 - How Jimmy McLoughlin became a podcaster
04:21 - How Jimmy got the Prime Minister of the UK on the pod
08:50 - The power of big podcasts
11:43 - Why can’t politicians be honest?
12:56 - The top 5 episodes of Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future
16:59 - The top 5 episodes of Uncensored CMO in 2025
21:25 - What episode has inspired Jimmy the most
23:27 - What episode has inspired Jon the most?
29:34 - What politician would Jon most like to interview?
30:33 - The danger of all the new podcasts being released
33:27 - The most untrustworthy professions; marketing and politics
34:39 - Webinars need a rebrand
35:56 - Why no marketer was involved with branding ChatGPT
37:27 - Monzo’s great marketing in 2025
39:33 - The serious case for humour in advertising
39:58 - The different types of happiness in advertising
41:46 - The shifting advertising landscape
46:13 - Approaching marketing like a politician
47:51 - Career advice in 2026 from Jimmy McLoughlin
49:20 - When politics and marketing collide