Stop Waiting for One Perfect Ad and Start Building a Real Marketing System

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast I clear up confusion from a Facebook post where I said “Mad Men is over.” People thought I meant the TV show. I meant the model behind it: big Madison Avenue agencies running top down campaigns that pushed one message to everyone through broadcast, radio, print, and billboards.

I believe that approach is dead, and the Super Bowl in 2026 shows why. The Super Bowl used to be the cultural center. People watched the game, the halftime show, and the commercials, then talked about the ads the next day. This year, early numbers showed a drop in viewership, and a large chunk of people watched an alternative halftime show instead. After that, I did not hear anyone talk about a single commercial. The main debate became which halftime show you watched. That tells me attention no longer moves as a monolith.

When I started in video, it was normal to spend tens of thousands on one 30 second spot and run it for years. That worked when attention lived in one place. Now it is split across phones, tablets, streaming, and other feeds.

So here is my ask this week. Drop the idea that one pitch, one ad, or one post will carry your business. Build a system that puts your message in front of people where they already spend time. Publish, test, and refine. Keep showing up until the market tells you what it wants.