MBMBaM 806: Ad Daddies

Mon Mar 23 2026

Our home town boys made GOOD! But don’t you worry, we won’t let the success go to our heads. As much as we wanted to make the whole thing ads top to bottom, this episode still has a tasteful amount of the absolute best ad reads in the game, alongside elevated discussions about special powers, what shapes make the best candy, and how to look cool on the playground. Suggested talking points: How Will I Make it up to Kevin Pereira, Pre-Roll Papa, Strong Hammerbones in the Middle Ear, Sorry it's been So Dusty, One of this Generation's Ad Wolves, Hut Crust, It's A Platform Border Angels: https://www.borderangels.org/our-services.html

Transcript

Justin McElroy (0:00)

The McElroy brothers are not experts, and their advice should never be followed. Travis insists he's a sexpert, but if there's a degree on his wall, I haven't seen it. Also, this show isn't for kids, which I mention only so the babies out there will know how cool they are for listening. What's up, you cool baby?

Montagne (0:21)

It's the start of something beautiful A small acquaintance has blossomed it's ripened into a precious friends I could have never seen what was coming for me Hangs at the skate park Hangs by the beach My life, it feels like. It's better it's better with you My life ah, it's better it's better with you this is true it's better it's better with two.

Justin McElroy (1:08)

It's better with you hello and welcome to My Brother, My Brother main advice show for the Modron era. I'm your oldest brother, Justin McElroy.

Travis McElroy (1:16)

Oh, all right, hold on real quick. Yeah, hey, Joel. Yeah, no, you tell Conan if he wants us to sub in and do his ads, he's gonna have to add a zero to that offer.

Justin McElroy (1:26)

Insufferable. Yeah, I'm already suffering twice.

Travis McElroy (1:28)

Okay, I love you too. Okay, bye, Joel. Sorry about that, guys. Yeah, hi. What's up, Trav Nation? It's me, your middle is brother Travis. Big dog. Wolf over him. Vroom. The heater McElroy.

Griffin McElroy (1:38)

Hold on one second, guys. I am also getting a phone call. What's that, Joel? Bill Belichick wants me to play for the New England Patriots to replace Gronk. Yeah, that shouldn't be an issue at all. I beat him at ads, so I don't.

Justin McElroy (1:55)

Is that Joel? Bill Bellamy wants.

Griffin McElroy (1:56)

I don't know why I couldn't take

Justin McElroy (1:58)

over his hosting jobs. All of them.

Griffin McElroy (2:01)

What's that? Hold on, Joel, I'm getting a call from Bel.

Justin McElroy (2:03)

Biv DeVoe wants to make it Bell. Biv DeVoe and Justin.

Griffin McElroy (2:06)

Oh, shit. Guys, I'm getting the call up. The Seahawks want me to. Guys, Marshawn lynch called for the Seahawks. He said join my you guys fight it out chat.

Summary

My Brother, My Brother and Me – Episode 806: "Ad Daddies" (March 23, 2026)

Episode Overview

This installment features the McElroy brothers—Justin, Travis, and Griffin—riding high on their recent win for "Best Podcast Ad Reads" at the iHeartMedia Podcast Awards. The episode oscillates between sincere reflection on their achievement, playful deconstruction of awards culture, signature absurdist goofs (including a "Work of Fart" game), and classic advice-plus-bits content. Listeners get deep McElroy sibling chemistry: playful jabs, looping tangents, and bursts of genuine introspection wrapped in the show’s hallmark self-awareness.

Major Themes and Segments

1. Celebrating the iHeartMedia Podcast Awards Win

Opening Banter: The brothers riff on being the "best ad readers," with fake celebrity calls (Bill Belichick, Bill Bellamy, Marshawn Lynch, and Biv DeVoe), and the “transitive property” of being able to best Gronk at football since they bested him at ads. (01:16–02:43)
- “Because we're so good at ads and we beat Gronk at it by the transitive property, we could beat him at football. I don't know.” – Griffin (02:21)
Reflections on Recognition: They joke about never being given “Local Boys Make Good” headlines (03:03–03:43), with Clint and Travis particularly rueful about their lack of hometown acclaim.
- “Turns out the best ad reader in the world lives in Huntington, West Virginia.” – Clint (03:49)
Award Ceremony Experience: Travis shares the undignified, confusing awards show experience—being left standing instead of seated, finding out they won unexpectedly, and then being told their trophy would be mailed. (04:09–08:16)
- “It's actually worse. It's worse that you won. It's worse. How could it be worse to win?” – Justin (08:29)
On Awards and Categories: The brothers joke about chasing more podcast awards, including "Best Advice Podcast" and "Best Travis Podcast." (09:09–10:28)
- “Why is there not a Best Travis in the awards?” – Justin (10:25)

2. Meta-Ad Read Bit ("Ad Daddies")

Riffing on Their Reputation: The brothers parody the idea of putting all ads up-front and adopt the moniker “Ad Daddies,” riffing on the culture of podcast advertising. (12:48–13:29)
- “People keep saying put the ads first.” – Justin (12:48)
- “45 minutes of ads, 15 minutes of bits. Switch it up.” – Travis (12:55)
- “Earl me with the URL.” – Justin (13:10)

3. The Advice Segment: Winning Over Theater Kids at the Playground

Listener Question: How to endear oneself to a group of theater kids at a playground hangout? (14:32–21:30)
Discussion Highlights:
- Doing playground tricks "for you" is the coolest approach.
  - “He wasn't doing it for anybody else...He was just having fun.” – Travis (16:43)
- Providing alcohol, drugs, or "big messy outdoor activities" can be a social shortcut (with jokes about how those times have changed).
  - “The answer to your question, since time immemorial...is you produce alcohol and drugs and perhaps tobacco.” – Justin (17:18)
- Blowing bubbles is suggested as an innocent, universally-liked activity.
- Most theater kids hunger for an audience; being the supportive hype person is valuable.
  - “What if you were just there being like...that was a great. You hung on the monkey bars for a really long time, and I thought that was awesome.” – Travis (19:53)
- Parody: Give notes like a director for extra social sway.
  - “You're an audience. You're the audience for them." – Travis (20:08)
  - “If instead of applause and cheering, you gave them some notes … now you're the director of the Theater Kids Group.” – Griffin (20:24)

4. Advice: The Cartographer with No Sense of Direction

Listener Question: How to deal with the irony of being a geographer with no innate sense of direction? (21:34–28:14)
Discussion Highlights:
- Everyone has an "innate superpower:" time, temperature, direction, or speed.
  - “I usually know to about a three minute margin of error what the time currently is.” – Griffin (22:38)
- It's normal (even among the McElroys) to lack a sense of direction; don't feel bad.
  - “There are many incredible things that I am impressed by, by my wife on a regular basis. But her innate sense of direction might as well be the power of an Olympian God to me.” – Travis (25:38)
- Jokes about the futility and arbitrariness of maps, and the idea of labeling house walls as "N/S/E/W" for learning.

5. Easter Candy vs. Other Holiday Candy

Justin's Thesis: Easter candy is the best candy, beating out other holiday treats. (34:41–40:42)
Debate Points:
- Cadbury Mini Eggs, Creme Eggs, Robin’s Eggs, and wildly colored marshmallow eggs put Easter at the top.
- Halloween’s candies are “universally dog shit,” and Christmas’s iconic sweets are subject to “theft” year round.
  - “Halloween's standalone candy is almost universally dog shit.” – Griffin (36:25)
- Peeps divide the panel.
  - “Peeps...disgusting.” – Travis (39:39)
  - “No, it's peeps. You can. All right, peeps, fine. I don't agree with you on peeps, especially once they're stale. But I agree with you.” – Justin (38:19)

6. Work of Fart: CW-Themed Game

Premise: Travis hosts a game where CW show titles are changed to include bathroom humor. (40:56–45:12)
- Highlights:
  - "Pooper Natural" for "Supernatural"
  - "Go Piss Girl" for "Gossip Girl" (43:31)
  - "Shitty Little Liars" for "Pretty Little Liars"
  - "Vampire Diarrheas" for "Vampire Diaries"
- “I’m calling this one CW themed… but I don’t know if all these shows were on the CW, but they feel like they were.” – Travis (41:19)

7. Munch Squad: Pizza Hut’s New “Hut Crust” and the Crust Guardian

Justin profiles Pizza Hut’s new “Hut Crust” platform and contest to become the ‘Hut Crust Connoisseur’. (45:57–55:59)
- Jokes about Pizza Hut’s admission that their crust was bad, now “crust is the main event.”
  - “When it comes to pizza, crust isn’t just a detail. It’s the main event… Pizza Hut is saying the most important thing and we’ve been fucked up and we’re so sorry.” – Justin (47:00)
- The “Crust Guardian” role is mocked as a Lord of the Rings-esque quest.
  - “Will you take up the sword to defend the crust, traveler?” – Travis (49:09)
- Real contest prize: $31,415.92 and a year of free pizza.
- “That means literally getting paid to eat pizza crust and a $31,415.92 payment plus free pizza for a year.” – Justin (52:12)
- Brothers entertain entering the contest and joke about the legacy and burden of the role.
  - “It takes generations...the Hut Crust connoisseur job.” – Travis (52:58)

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

On their awards show experience:
- “I had to spell our last name twice, too.” – Travis, discussing indignities post-victory (08:37)
- “There was a pretty good gag there, running five years running, that we would continue to be nominated for the best podcast ad read ... and we will be beaten out by someone who was actually genuinely much, much more famous than we are. That was, like, a fun gag.” – Griffin (08:43)
On playground/advice for theater kids:
- “I have seen countless people try to dance funny... I've only ever seen one man dance in a humorous way that made me happy. His name was Christopher Stoker. Do you know why? Cause he was having fun. He wasn't doing it for anybody else.” – Travis (16:28–16:46)
On everyone’s innate “sense”:
- “We are all attuned to different sort of vibrations, frequencies of the universe.” – Griffin (22:12)
- “Are you a temperature guy?” – Griffin (23:10)
On the need for an audience:
- “What if you were just there being like... that was a great. You hung on the monkey bars for a really long time, and I thought that was awesome.” – Travis (19:53)
- “Being the one person in this crew that is not trying to pull focus will eventually make you the king of the hill.” – Justin (20:11)
Best CW Bathroom Pun:
- “Go piss girl.” – Griffin (43:31)
On Pizza Hut’s contest:
- “A way to get paid for tasting and loving crust every day and then dying promptly afterwards in a fashion you will find desirable.” – Clint (56:49)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Time | |---------------------------------------|-------------| | Opening Awards Banter | 01:16–04:09 | | Travis at the Awards Show | 04:09–08:16 | | Ad Daddies/Meta-Ad Riffing | 12:48–13:29 | | Playground Advice for Theater Kids | 14:32–21:30 | | Cartographer/Direction Sense Advice | 21:34–28:14 | | Easter Candy Debate | 34:41–40:42 | | Work of Fart: CW Themed | 40:56–45:12 | | Munch Squad: Pizza Hut Crust Guardian | 45:57–55:59 |

Tone & Style

The episode is loose, irreverent, and meta. There’s a gleeful self-awareness about their place in podcasting, a playful skepticism about awards, and a recurring theme of “the bit is also the truth” throughout. The episode is a good encapsulation of MBMBaM’s comfort zone: blending genuine advice, surreal roleplaying, competitive goofing, and bantering about the trivial and profound in equal measure.

Takeaways for New Listeners

Expect advice content interwoven with elaborate, absurd, and often self-deprecating tangents.
The McElroys treat both their successes and embarrassments as fodder for comedy.
Meta-commentary on podcasting and advertising culture is abundant.
Each brother brings a unique energy—Travis the theater-of-the-absurd gamesmaster, Griffin the fast-banter surrealist, and Justin the heartfelt goofball.

Closing Note

Episode 806 is quintessential MBMBaM: searching for the punchline in an awards show slight, advocating blowing bubbles over cigarettes, and pontificating about the existential loneliness of being the “Hut Crust Guardian.” If you’re new, the blend of sincerity, grotesquery, and unsnobbish pop culture riffing is exactly what the McElroys intend you to find.