Podcast
ADSN
Hosted by James Borow and Daniel Druger · EN
ADSN (The Ads Network) is a weekly show for people building and investing in ads, media, and monetization products. Every Tuesday, join James Borow and Daniel Druger as they bring over 30 years of experience to discuss the headlines and the why and how behind them. They also welcome industry leaders to go deep on topics in a fun and approachable format.
Join the ADSN crew every Tuesday 🗓️
18episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Zuck’s Leaked Audio on Training AI, DraftKings CEO Goes Off & Why Your Feed Is Fake
May 2300:33:11Tap to summarizeLeaked audio from Meta's All Hands: Zuck wants to train AI on employee behavior. DraftKings CEO goes scorched earth on Kalshi. Publicis bought LiveRamp. Chinese brands are quietly acquiring Everlane, Blue Bottle, and Salomon. Airbnb will have to embrace AI agents. The feed is fake. And someone put their CPA on Meta Ray-Bans.Thank you to our sponsors: AdQuick — adquick.com Thrad.ai — thrad.ai beehiiv — beehiiv.com The Farm — thefarmllp.com STAY CONNECTEDJames on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborowDaniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldrugerSubscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
Transcribe →
Why Everyone in Ads Is Wrong About OpenAI, Shopify, and Gen Z
May 1300:35:07Tap to summarizeThis week ADSN goes bicostal for the first time. Daniel is live from Upfronts in New York and James is holding it down in LA.They kick off with Kalshi odds on a Tesla-SpaceX merger hitting 50%, then get into why ChatGPT shipping an ad manager is kind of a joke — they literally told Codex to build it. Eric Tilbury defines outcomes in a single sentence that should be written in stone.The conversation moves into why brands need more ads (not just better ones), how Gen Z doesn't subscribe to anything and just uses the algo, and why there are more car dealerships than car makers in the Fortune 500. James drops his Shopify thesis (it's a headless walled garden, not a SaaS business), they cover the Cameo x TikTok partnership, and close out with Spencer Pratt's AI-powered political campaign as a blueprint for creative.Plus: Duolingo's new Focus Mode that locks your apps, the data center land flip arbitrage, and why the future of AI is in the suburbs.Thank you to our sponsors:• AdQuick — adquick.com• Thrad.ai — thrad.ai• beehiiv — beehiiv.com• The Farm — thefarmllp.com STAY CONNECTEDJames on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborowDaniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldrugerSubscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
Transcribe →
GameStop Wants to Buy eBay, Parker Card Dies Overnight & Every Platform Goes API-First | ADSN Ep. 18
May 700:29:09Tap to summarizeRyan Cohen wants to buy eBay with half cash, half stock. Parker Card raised $200M and vanished overnight. OpenAI shipped a full ads manager. Shopify, Meta, Mercury, and Spotify all launched AI connectors in the same week. Stripe Atlas data shows new AI-era companies are 2x the size of last year's cohort. Plus: why Unilever is betting on 300K creators, and the one skill creative strategists are missing.This is ADSN — the ad tech and media show for operators who want signal, not noise.Sponsors: AdQuick, Thrad, Beehiiv, The Farm LLP
Transcribe →
Elon's $60B Lego Set and How PE Firms Are Using Claude Code to Kill Deals
Apr 2900:30:20Tap to summarizePrivate equity firms are spending weekends rebuilding acquisition targets in Claude Code. If the clone works, the deal dies. It's the cheapest moat test in human history.This week James and Daniel dig into:• Why token pricing today looks exactly like mobile data pricing 15 years ago• Sam Altman rethinking OS design and the OpenAI phone rumors• GPT Image generating LEGO sets with real BrickLink part IDs• SpaceX acquiring Cursor for up to $60 billion• China blocking Meta's Manus acquisition. Is this the balkanization of AI talent?• Anthropic paying $400K/year for an events role• Chinese micro-dramas: this year's ad platform growth driverPlus: Evan Spiegel called software dead 15 years ago, Sean Frank asks why you still aren't building, and AI agents negotiating your BNPL rates in real time.Thank you to our sponsors:• AdQuick — adquick.com• Thrad.ai — thrad.ai• beehiiv — beehiiv.comSTAY CONNECTEDJames on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborowDaniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldrugerSubscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
Transcribe →The Death of SaaS, OpenAI's Ad Problem, and Tim Cook Steps Down
Apr 2200:26:47Tap to summarizeSequoia just dropped a thesis that's shaking up the industry: the next trillion-dollar company won't sell software — it'll sell work. Meanwhile, founders are cutting SaaS tools to pay for AI tokens, Block built a "Claude for money" inside Cash App, and OpenAI can't figure out how to spend advertisers' money.This week James and Daniel dig into:• Sequoia's bold thesis: sell work, not software — and what it means for the SaaS era• Why founders are cutting SaaS tools to pay for more AI tokens• Block's Moneybot and what a "Claude for money" looks like• The clipping economy explosion — MTS, the 24/7 show trying to replace TBPN• OpenAI's ad inventory problem: $200K committed, barely $2K spent• Notion's 2026 "no roadmap" strategy• Breaking: Tim Cook steps down as Apple CEO — hardware leaders are the futurePlus: Why AI without a clear plan is actually dangerous for your productivity, Olympic fencing now looks like a lightsaber fight, and Larry Ellison's legendary defense of Elon Musk.Sponsors:• AdQuick — Making OOH advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as digital. adquick.com• Thrad.ai — Building the advertising infrastructure for AI. thrad.aiSTAY CONNECTEDJames on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborowDaniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldrugerSubscribe & leave a 5-star review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. It takes 10 seconds and helps others discover ADSN.
Transcribe →
She Rebuilt Her Entire Agency with AI in 3 Weeks ft. Julia Knight
Apr 1700:27:48Tap to summarizeJulia Knight rebuilt every single workflow at her agency Knight Vision using Claude. Condensing 5 people’s roles into one in just 3 weeks. James and Daniel sit down with Julia to talk about what it actually looks like to scale a marketing agency with AI.In this episode:• How Julia used Claude to rebuild Knight Vision’s entire backend• Why volume beats perfection in content marketing (posting = shots on goal)• What creator partnership programs actually cost and how attribution works• B2B influencers are at 0.5 out of 10. Massive opportunity ahead• The viral marketing playbook: content + distribution + speed• Differences working with Gen Z and millennial foundersJulia also shares what she’s building next and why having an open mind is the biggest advantage right now.Follow Julia Knight:LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/julia-knight-565b48127Knight Vision: trycutie.com (subscribe to her newsletter)Sponsors:• AdQuick – Making OOH advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as digital. adquick.com• Thrad.ai — Building the advertising infrastructure for AI. thrad.aiSTAY CONNECTEDJAMES on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborowDANIEL on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldruger👉 Hit Subscribe, then leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. It takes 10 seconds and makes all the difference in helping other people discover ADSN.
Transcribe →
The Masters vs. AI, Meta Muse is Everywhere, Why Diplo Thinks You Can’t Beat AI (And How You Can Use It)
Apr 1500:31:50Tap to summarizeIt's bizarro world this week with James going phoneless for 10 hours, his new found respect for IBM, and why he's so bullish on out of home (OOH) advertising. Then it's back to digital land with Meta launching Muse, another week of OpenAI ads announcements, and the one thing you can do to stop AI bad actors (hint: call your country leader a big fat pig). Also in this episode is Diplo, Rick Rubin, and Andrew Sorkin...?A special thanks to our newest sponsors:- AdQuick, the platform making out-of-home advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as your digital campaigns. James and Daniel have been following AdQuick for a long time and big proponents that if OOH isn't in your media mix yet, AdQuick will change your mind. Check them out at adquick.com- Thrad.ai, the platform building the advertising infrastructure for AI. Helping publishers monetize with in-chat ads and advertisers buy ads in AI. Thrad is building the AI ad future that James and Daniel talk about in nearly every episode. Learn more at thrad.ai. STAY CONNECTEDJAMES on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborowDANIEL on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldruger👉 Hit Subscribe, then leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts. It takes 10 seconds and makes all the difference in helping other people discover ADSN.
Transcribe →ADSN | Guest Commentators: Eric Seufert & Taylor Holiday
Apr 11, 2025Tap to summarizeADSN is the ESPN for the ads/marketing industry. This week, hosts James Borow and Daniel welcome guest commentators Eric Seufert and Taylor Holiday to talk about current market volatility, tariffs, and the impact on ad platforms and DTC brands.ADSN is made possible by: dash.fi - https://dash.fiMeasured - https://measured.com/Follow ADSN: Keep up with ADSN:https://TheADSN.comhttps://x.com/The_ADSNhttps://youtube.com/@theadsn
Transcribe →