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Second Wind by AKA: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Gully Flowers, Kerrie Finch, Jake Neske
Second Wind is the show about how creative power is built. Hosted by Also Known As, Second Wind features candid conversations with the creative leaders, founders, CMOs, producers, and operators shaping modern creativity. We go inside the work, pressure, politics, pivots, and instincts behind ideas that change careers, companies, and culture. These are conversations about reputation, taste, production, leadership, reinvention, AI, in-house agencies, and how great work actually gets made. For creative leaders, producer buyers, brand builders, agency founders, and anyone trying to understand
Latest Episodes
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- 1 weeks ago59 min
Why Great Ads Feel Like Childhood Memories | Marques Gartrell, W+K
Marques Gartrell is Co-CCO of Wieden+Kennedy New York, the agency behind work for Nike, McDonald’s, Delta, and Michelob Ultra.In this episode of Second Wind:how the Travis Scott meal started from a tweetwhy the Grimace Shake became internet folklorehow W+K made “Horizontal Breakfast” in 7 dayswhy brands are competing with childhood memorieswhat young creatives get wrongwhy Marques still keeps Photoshop openA conversation about culture, instinct, taste, speed, and making work people actually carry around with them.The best work stops feeling like advertising and starts feeling like part of someone’s life.
- 3 weeks ago54 min
From Verizon's $3B Budget to OpenAI's Frontier: Andrew McKechnie on Modern Creative Leadership
Andrew McKechnie is Head of Business Creative Studio at OpenAI. Before that he was SVP and Chief Creative Officer at Verizon, where he ran a $3 billion marketing budget and built a 300-person in-house agency. Before that he was Global Head of Design Group at Apple. Across his career he has won a Gold Cannes Lion, multiple D&AD pencils, six straight Webbys, and an Emmy nomination.He sits down with Gully Flowers to talk about what happens when a creative decides the brief is too late, and the only way to do better work is to move upstream. They cover what the agency model got wrong, why it was an operating issue and not a talent issue, what a real in-house team is and is not, why physical craft matters more in the AI era, and what OpenAI's merch program reveals about modern brand building.A conversation for anyone leading creative work inside a brand, agency, or startup right now.
- Apr 28, 202645 min
The Old Spice Genius Who Wrote a Skittles Spot About Murder - Craig Allen, CALLEN
Craig Allen wrote the Skittles spot where a man accidentally murders his family with rainbow candy. He helped make the Old Spice response campaign ; 286 videos in 36 hours, one every 7 minutes, until they broke YouTube. Then he left Wieden+Kennedy, asked Dan Wieden what to call his new agency, and got told every name was stupid.This week on Second Wind, the founder and CCO of CALLEN sits down with Gully Flowers and Kerrie Finch to talk about how to sell ideas that scare clients to death.Inside the episode:- Why the best risky ideas are “stupid smart” — and how to make a CMO feel dumb for not buying them- The real story behind the Skittles Touch shoot: explosives, cops, a $$$$ glass desk filled with hundreds of thousands of real Skittles, and one PA running through the shot- How a six-person writers’ room turned Old Spice into the fastest creative operation in advertising history- Why Dan Wieden made him put his own name on the agency (and why it changed how he works)- The case for fun as a strategic weapon, not a vibe- What independent agencies have to do now that the holding cos have stopped pretending to care about creativityCraig has won two Cannes Grand Prix, the Grand Effie, Best in Show at The One Show, two black D&AD pencils, an Emmy, and was once named one of the 50 sexiest creatives in the world by Creativity Magazine. We do not let him forget it.Second Wind is a Webby Honoree podcast at the intersection of creativity, leadership, and advertising. Hosted by Gully Flowers and Kerrie Finch of AKA. New episodes fortnightly.Leave a review if it landed.
- Apr 14, 202636 min
How Old Spice Happened: Eric Kallman on Skittles, Craft, and 250 Scripts for One Spot | Second Wind
Eric Kallman is the co-founder and chief creative officer of Erich & Kallman, the independent agency behind standout work for brands like Reese’s, King’s Hawaiian, Franzia, Toyota and more. Before that, he helped create some of the most iconic advertising of the last two decades, including Old Spice, Skittles, Little Caesars, Kayak and Ragu. Erich & Kallman was named Ad Age’s 2024 Small Agency of the Year and was later recognized as a 2025 A-List standout. In this episode of Second Wind, Eric talks about how Old Spice almost died before it changed culture, why absurd work only works when the product truth is dead simple, and what most young creatives are skipping when they chase shortcuts. He gets into the discipline behind funny advertising, the value of silence in the creative process, why six weeks and 250 scripts used to be normal, and how AI can help if it gives creatives more time to think instead of less. Topics include Old Spice, Skittles, creative discipline, copywriting, campaign craft, small agencies, advertising fundamentals, AI in creative work, and what it takes to make funny ads that actually sell.
- Mar 31, 202651 min
Micah Walker on Why Caring Too Hard Wins
Micah Walker, co-founder of Bear Meets Eagle on Fire, joins Second Wind for a sharp conversation on what it really takes to make better work. He talks about building an agency that refuses to become a smaller version of the big networks, why caring too hard is a feature not a flaw, why the best ideas should never arrive with a safety option, and how great production turns good thinking into something people can actually feel. This one is about creative conviction, craft, culture, and the kind of standards that make the work unforgettable.
- Mar 17, 202644 min
Matt Cooper on Why Awards Are Becoming Toxic, Why the Work Doesn’t Speak for Itself, and How LBB Became #1
Matt Cooper, founder of Little Black Book, joins Second Wind to talk about how LBB became the most visited creative platform in the world, why awards are becoming toxic, why the work no longer speaks for itself, and what the industry still gets wrong about reputation, craft, and growth.We get into the rise of indie agencies like Bear Meets Eagle On Fire, why clients and agencies need more belief, how creative companies should use platforms like LBB properly, what young people misunderstand about the industry, and why Matt thinks AI is being talked about all wrong.If you care about creativity, reputation, production, agency growth, or where the business is heading next, this one’s worth your time.
- Mar 3, 202650 min
Una Walsh: Google's Experience Design Director on Why Retail Lost Its Joy | Ep. 031
Una Walsh has spent 25 years working at the seam between what a brand promises and what a customer actually feels — from Virgin Atlantic and Nike's House of Innovation to Apple, and now as Executive Experience Design Director at Google.In this conversation, Una and co-hosts Gully Flowers and Kerrie Finch dig into why retail has gotten boring, what brands like Nike and LOEWE are doing differently, and why the obsession with frictionless efficiency is quietly killing brand joy.They also get into AI, craft, and why a sewing machine doesn't make you a fashion designer.Topics covered:– Why Virgin Atlantic was Una's first lesson in holistic brand experience– The Nike Soho flagship: what went wrong on opening day and how they fixed it– The retail ritual that makes the Nike shoe box moment magic– How Google is thinking about physical retail for its devices and hardware– "We moved from the age of information to the age of imagination" — Es Devlin– Why creatives still need to sell their ideas, no matter how senior they get– AI as a sparring partner, not a shortcutSecond Wind is hosted by Gully Flowers and Kerrie Finch. New episodes every other Tuesday.
- Feb 17, 202652 min
Jason Sperling (Apple “Mac vs PC”) on Convincing Steve Jobs, Super Bowl Pressure & Leading Creativity in the AI Era
Jason Sperling is the Chief Creative Officer at INNOCEAN ; and one of the creative leaders behind Apple’s legendary “Mac vs PC” campaign.In this episode of Second Wind, Jason shares what it was really like presenting to Steve Jobs every Wednesday, surviving brutal creative cycles at TBWA\Chiat\Day, and helping turn “I’m a Mac” into one of the most influential campaigns of the century.We also get into:• Convincing Steve Jobs to run digital banner ads• Writing body copy to land a job at Chiat• The six-month grind behind Mac vs PC• Making Honda’s Ferris Bueller Super Bowl spot• Directing Bruce Willis after he walked off set• Why taste matters more than tools in the AI era• How creative leaders survive the jump from maker to manager• The future of agencies in an AI-driven worldIf you care about advertising, leadership, creative resilience, or how iconic work actually gets made — this one is for you.
About Second Wind by AKA
Second Wind is the show about how creative power is built. Hosted by Also Known As, Second Wind features candid conversations with the creative leaders, founders, CMOs, producers, and operators shaping modern creativity. We go inside the work, pressure, politics, pivots, and instincts behind ideas that change careers, companies, and culture. These are conversations about reputation, taste, production, leadership, reinvention, AI, in-house agencies, and how great work actually gets made. For creative leaders, producer buyers, brand builders, agency founders, and anyone trying to understand
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