Good Guys – "Great Jeans, Bad Marketing"

Hosts: Josh Peck & Ben Soffer
Date: August 18, 2025
Podcast: Good Guys (Dear Media)

Episode Overview

In this lively and irreverent episode, Josh Peck and Ben Soffer cover everything from the etiquette and excesses of Zoom meetings, and the failed legacy of Quibi, to bold marketing risks and viral controversies—including a much-discussed American Eagle campaign with Sydney Sweeney. They also dive into audition “inside baseball,” the psychology of TV casting, and listener questions about weight-loss drugs and awkward friendship boundaries. The tone is upbeat and candid, mixing industry insight with self-deprecating humor and the hosts’ signature “What are you nuts?” banter.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Zoom Etiquette & Overuse

• Eating on Zoom: Ben confesses to eating during a lunch-hour Zoom, describing it as “a power play” and sharing his “out of this world” tuna recipe (01:27).
• Zoom as Default: Both hosts gripe about Zoom’s dominance for meetings, preferring calls unless visuals are truly needed. “Zoom is so overly prescribed nowadays for unnecessarily.” — Josh (02:36)
• A New Proposal: If someone wants to know what you look like, just “text the best picture of yourself and hop on a call.” — Ben (03:08)
• Productivity Over Optics: The hosts note that video calls became the norm with remote work, so bosses can monitor employees’ engagement more closely.

2. Quibi Revisited – Lessons in Failed Innovation

• Vertical Video: Josh explains Quibi’s concept—a vertically native, short-form content service, built for mobile consumption (07:36).
• Creator Problem: Ben points out that “You couldn’t create on it. There was nothing to create. These were all programs that were sort of shown at you like a Netflix. There wasn’t a creator element to Quibi, was there?” (07:09)
• David Dobrik Example: Quibi’s failed courting of online creators contrasted with platforms, like YouTube and Instagram, where UGC (user-generated content) thrives.

3. Media, Meetings & Workplace Hierarchies

• Walking Meetings: Shout out to Brian Tenenbaum at Roku who “is like a 15-30,000 step guy… pure alpha” and takes calls while walking (04:27).
• Katzenberg's Food Tactic: Jeffrey Katzenberg would stack meetings over breakfast and lunch, believing food relaxes people—a tactic the hosts mostly admire, except if used as a scheduling power move (15:49).
• Casting/Audition Inside Baseball:
  • “There’s a hierarchy before the screen test… if you’re the guy the creative team wants, they’ll surround you with schmos.” — Josh (22:24)
  • Ben laments empty praise from non-decision makers: “It’s like the radiologist telling you what’s wrong after they’ve seen your MRI when they’re not qualified.” (22:53)
  • Recency bias and psychology of being seen first or last in auditions discussed humorously.

4. Viral Marketing & Controversy: The Sydney Sweeney — American Eagle Debacle

• Campaign Overview: AE ran a campaign with Sweeney using the tagline “She has great jeans,” playing on both looks (genes) and denim (jeans).
• Controversy: Some interpreted the ad as code for “Aryan” or anti-Semitic dog whistling; others just found it dumb.
• Hosts’ Verdict:
  • “What are you fucking nuts? This is a genius marketing campaign.” — Ben (31:15)
  • “It went viral because people are so dumb… it will lift the entire brand.” — Ben (31:31)
  • Josh notes bold marketing is often rewarded, referencing the virality even if unintended.
• Broader Commentary: Both hosts bemoan the loss of bold advertising—“We just don’t hear jingles like that anymore. We’re just boring.” — Ben (34:45)
  • Discussion of risk aversion in traditional media, and a “post-cancel culture” era that’s more forgiving if the content is actually funny.

5. Social Media Algorithms & The Curse of Shared Content

• Ben laments how sharing grotesque or outlandish videos with friends on Instagram “poisons the algorithm.” (15:44)
• “A lot of it just is, at least for me, overweight porn. What does that say about me?” (15:44)

6. Industry & Hollywood Anecdotes

• Nickelodeon Canada Shutdown “Clickbait”: Annoyance with misleading headlines about the supposed “shutting down” of Nickelodeon.
• Audition “Sabotage” Jokes: Ben riffs on potential ways to sabotage competitors—sending them bad food, fake notifications—lampooning the cutthroat audition process (25:23).

7. Listener Questions & Advice

a. Taking GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs (48:13)

• Caller (Anonymous) asks how to navigate friends’ judgment about using GLP-1s (Ozempic, etc.).
• Ben recommends self-deprecation and honesty: “I wouldn't lie because eventually it will come out and you don’t want it to seem like you’re ashamed of it because you’re not.” (48:13)
• “It’s not their business. It’s your body. People should let you do what you think is right.” — Ben (49:09)
• Josh recommends stoic detachment: “You don’t have to have an opinion on everything. If someone gets nosy, just do this — (shrugs) — and move on.” (50:36)

b. “Gay Best Friend Wants to Date Me” (Gracie, 51:17)

• Listener asks what to do after her (assumed gay) guy friend confesses attraction.
• Both hosts joke that this is a futuristic “long-con,” but ultimately approach with empathy:
  • “You can fall in love with a person, and there are some people for whom gender isn’t the leading driver for attraction.” — Josh (54:33)
  • If you’re not interested, that’s what matters; ultimately, “The relationship will either fall away, or you’ll face it together.” (55:15)

8. What Are You Nuts? — Weekly Rants

• Josh: His son flushed a pair of socks down the toilet: “What are you nuts? … That’s gonna cost me thousands.” (56:07)
• Ben: Accidentally orders a massive 25-lb bag of rice on Instacart: “Who needs this amount of rice? … Now I just have this open thing of rice. What are you nuts?” (56:29)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If you're going to schedule a meeting with me during lunch hours, I'm going to be eating." — Ben (01:01)
• "Zoom is so overly prescribed nowadays for unnecessarily." — Josh (02:36)
• "I've had tuna in my teeth for the last time." — Ben (04:51)
• “You couldn't create on it. There was nothing to create. These were all programs that were sort of shown at you like a Netflix.” — Ben on Quibi (07:09)
• "What are you fucking nuts? This is a genius marketing campaign." — Ben on the Sydney Sweeney 'great jeans' debacle (31:15)
• "We just don't hear jingles like that anymore. … We're just boring. Everything is so boring." — Ben (34:45)
• "I've never seen anyone canceled for something that's actually funny ever." — Josh on comedy and cancel culture (37:14)
• "It's not their business. It's your body." — Ben on weight-loss drugs (49:09)
• "You can fall in love with a person…there are some people for whom gender isn’t the leading driver for attraction." — Josh (54:33)
• "He flushed a pair of socks. What are you nuts?" — Josh (56:07)
• "Who needs this amount of rice? What are you nuts? 25 pounds. Too many pounds." — Ben (57:31)

Timestamps for Noteworthy Segments

• Zoom culture & etiquette: 00:33 – 04:09
• Quibi deep dive & creator economy: 05:26 – 10:16
• Jeffrey Katzenberg’s food strategy: 15:49
• Sydney Sweeney 'great jeans' ad campaign controversy: 31:03 – 34:21
• Marketing, jingles & ad risk: 34:21 – 37:14
• Listener Q: GLP-1s/Ozempic: 47:15 – 50:36
• Listener Q: 'Gay best friend wants to date me': 51:17 – 55:15
• 'What are you nuts?' rants: 56:07 – 57:31

Overall Tone & Takeaways

• Authentic, irreverent, and honest: No subject is too small, and Josh & Ben are quick to roast themselves, each other, and celebrity culture.
• Industry-insider meets everyday relatability: From Hollywood casting “games” to embarrassing Zoom habits, the podcast keeps things grounded and funny.
• Encourages boldness & not sweating critics: Whether it’s defending a daring ad campaign or a personal health decision, the hosts consistently advocate for honesty, self-determination, and rolling with the punches.

For those who missed the episode:
You’ll come away with new perspective on Zoom/meeting culture, the pitfalls of failed start-ups, the hidden world of auditions, and what makes marketing truly memorable—in addition to practical advice for dealing with nosy friends, rude algorithms, and overzealous rice bags. And, as always, the refrain: What are you nuts?