Globally, 41% of marketers plan to increase spending on podcast advertising in 2025 and spend is set to pass $3bn (over £2.3 billion) by 2026. Marketers are betting big on this medium, while lowering spend on traditional channels like radio, TV, and print. That’s a massive creative opportunity to take what’s too often an unwelcome interruption for listeners and turn it into something more attention-worthy.
Acast and OMD claim that podcast ads already generate higher short-term ROAS than social media and radio. That’s great, but according to Kantar’s research, they’re also increasingly seen as repetitive and ‘something I try to ignore’. When a podcast host suddenly starts reading a less-than-memorable script for, say, an online therapy provider, the internal groans are real. These moments can all-too-easily shatter the uniquely intimate atmosphere that podcasts cultivate, undermining the very thing that makes them so attractive to advertisers.
The good news is that there are clear ingredients for success. As described by Acast, the most effective podcast ads share three key attributes: authenticity, creativity, and humour. Listeners can spot insincerity a mile away, so letting hosts speak about products in their own voice and style is vital. But that’s really just table stakes. So who’s pushing things further?
In his Revisionist History podcast, Malcolm Gladwell often incorporates the ad into the narrative of the episode, making it feel like a natural extension of the content. Phoebe Judge from Criminal and This Is Love has a distinctive approach, too — she maintains her measured, atmospheric storytelling style in ad reads, weaving in true stories about the products or creating mini-mysteries around them. And in Tetragrammaton, Rick Rubin gives his ads an unusually vintage feel with old AM radio vibes.
Making it funny is another option. Not for every brand, perhaps, but more advertisers could certainly be making use of our great ‘underappreciated superpower’. Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend co-host Sona Movsesian often plays the sceptic during ad reads, creating an entertaining dynamic with Conan that turns the traditional testimonial format into something more like a comedy sketch.
Another shining example is Adam Buxton’s approach in The Adam Buxton Podcast. Buxton creates what may well be ‘podcasting’s only unskippable ads’. His secret? Silly voices, silly songs, silly stories. You can listen to a bunch of them here. Or just listen to a recent episode, like this one which opens with a lovely example of the form — a musical, character-driven, charmingly off-kilter ad for Aura Frames.
As Buxton puts it: ‘Advertising is really important. It’s part of people’s cultural environment… So to make shitty adverts is such an affront to those people. It’s like environmental pollution on a catastrophic scale.’
Strong echoes here of an older quote from advertising legend Martin Boase: ‘If you are going to invite yourself into someone’s living room you have a duty not to shout at them or bore them or insult their intelligence. On the other hand, if you are a charming guest and you entertain them or amuse them or tell them something interesting, then they may like you a bit better and then they may be more inclined to buy your brand.’
Better ads are a triple-win: listeners don’t feel interrupted, hosts maintain the integrity of their shows, and advertisers see better returns. When working with podcasters, be crystal clear on your key message and call-to-action, and set measurable goals, but don’t let measurement strangle creativity. Give hosts the freedom to create something that truly works for their audience. Make it known you want something special, then trust their instincts about what will stop listeners skipping.
You could even try giving podcasters an anti-brief, outlining what the brand explicitly gives them permission to mock or subvert. Example: ‘Feel free to joke about our product’s weird name’ or ‘You can parody our industry’s typical marketing tropes.’
I’d also love to see more experimentation with episodic ads that unfold across multiple episodes. Think of it as commissioning a mini-podcast within the podcast. This could involve recurring characters and cliffhangers, all created in the host’s style.
Might we also start seeing more experimentation with music and jingles? Could this fast-growing channel become a playground for more long-term brand building alongside the short-term activation that dominates today? For now, it’s always a good idea to include a show-specific offer code if you can — this makes tracking sales impact much easier. And remember, the three keys, however you interpret them, are unlikely to change in 2025 or beyond: authenticity, creativity, and humour.
Featured image: Kit / Unsplash