This Might Be Nothing https://slantastic.podbean.com A short-form series where we overanalyze the little things that say way too much: branding, business, human behavior, and all the blurry lines in between. Maybe the occasional spiral into something useful. Presented with deep regret by the team at SLANT. Tue, 09 Jun 2026 09:00:00 -0400 https://podbean.com/?v=5.5 en Copyright 2025 All rights reserved. Business:Marketing 1440 episodic SLANT SLANT No false https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/20925637/Podcast-Album_Art-v1-1500px8qktm.jpg This Might Be Nothing https://slantastic.podbean.com 144 144 The Problem With Honesty The Problem With Honesty https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/the-problem-with-honesty/ https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/the-problem-with-honesty/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2026 09:00:00 -0400 slantastic.podbean.com/a78f3b33-dd25-3a37-8ebc-e184852cbd47 When Hurricane Helene hit the upstate in 2024, Duke Energy texted updates like a concerned ex. Spectrum went radio silent. Guess which one people brought meals to.

Join Christopher Cecil and Allison Langford as they dig into the gap between what a brand knows and what its customers actually hear, and why the brands that close it tend to come out ahead.

Also featuring: HIPAA forms nobody explains, Patagonia's "Don't Buy This Jacket" as weaponized honesty, why the United Airlines CEO is banned from Vegas, and a small linguistic mystery about why Europeans say "Spectrum are" instead of "Spectrum is."

TL;DR: If you don't tell customers what's going on, they'll make something up. And it'll most definitely be worse.

]]> When Hurricane Helene hit the upstate in 2024, Duke Energy texted updates like a concerned ex. Spectrum went radio silent. Guess which one people brought meals to.

Join Christopher Cecil and Allison Langford as they dig into the gap between what a brand knows and what its customers actually hear, and why the brands that close it tend to come out ahead.

Also featuring: HIPAA forms nobody explains, Patagonia's "Don't Buy This Jacket" as weaponized honesty, why the United Airlines CEO is banned from Vegas, and a small linguistic mystery about why Europeans say "Spectrum are" instead of "Spectrum is."

TL;DR: If you don't tell customers what's going on, they'll make something up. And it'll most definitely be worse.

]]> SLANT false No 3145 1 7 full We Hate Ads. We Love Buying Stuff. Make It Make Sense. We Hate Ads. We Love Buying Stuff. Make It Make Sense. https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/we-hate-ads-we-love-buying-stuff-make-it-make-sense/ https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/we-hate-ads-we-love-buying-stuff-make-it-make-sense/#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2026 14:40:15 -0400 slantastic.podbean.com/b1488938-8f5d-31a1-aa06-9093ed13f510 Admit it: we're all hypocrites. We live in the most consumer society ever assembled while actively despising the thing designed to help us consume. So what's actually going on?

Christopher Cecil and Will Rothschild spiral into what we lost when brands traded storytelling for click metrics, and it's highly unlikely an algorithm will ever write a "Be Like Mike" moment.

Also featuring: the Rolex playbook for staying calm while competitors panic, airport lounges as a metaphor for everything, and the quietly radical idea that nobody hates great advertising.

]]> Admit it: we're all hypocrites. We live in the most consumer society ever assembled while actively despising the thing designed to help us consume. So what's actually going on?

Christopher Cecil and Will Rothschild spiral into what we lost when brands traded storytelling for click metrics, and it's highly unlikely an algorithm will ever write a "Be Like Mike" moment.

Also featuring: the Rolex playbook for staying calm while competitors panic, airport lounges as a metaphor for everything, and the quietly radical idea that nobody hates great advertising.

]]> SLANT false No 3362 1 6 full Now Easier Than Ever! Feelings not included. Now Easier Than Ever! Feelings not included. https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/now-easier-than-ever-feelings-not-included/ https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/now-easier-than-ever-feelings-not-included/#comments Tue, 03 Feb 2026 16:49:32 -0500 slantastic.podbean.com/f74e8981-e13e-3680-934d-abd909b8708a Brands are getting really good at reducing friction. Everything is faster and more effortless. But what if it’s getting a little too good?

In this episode, Christopher Cecil and Shelby Argo discuss what happens when brands accidentally optimize the life out of the experience. From Starbucks feeling like a vending machine to hotels that feel more like self-service kiosks, they unpack the rise of “frictionless” brands and why a little friction might actually be a good thing.

Also featuring: Disney magic, bad medical forms, Apple Pay amnesia, and the idea that slowing people down just a bit might be the most human move a brand can make.

]]> Brands are getting really good at reducing friction. Everything is faster and more effortless. But what if it’s getting a little too good?

In this episode, Christopher Cecil and Shelby Argo discuss what happens when brands accidentally optimize the life out of the experience. From Starbucks feeling like a vending machine to hotels that feel more like self-service kiosks, they unpack the rise of “frictionless” brands and why a little friction might actually be a good thing.

Also featuring: Disney magic, bad medical forms, Apple Pay amnesia, and the idea that slowing people down just a bit might be the most human move a brand can make.

]]> SLANT false No 2098 5 full The Age of Polished Nothingness. Now What? The Age of Polished Nothingness. Now What? https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/polished-nothingness-now-what/ https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/polished-nothingness-now-what/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2025 10:43:13 -0500 slantastic.podbean.com/d205e582-5440-3713-94b2-82c62657277d A highly polished brand used to mean something. Now any brand can look flawless in just minutes...even the fake ones selling mystery vitamins from a storage unit. AI has officially handed everyone the same shiny aesthetic, which means the visual arms race is over...and nobody won.

Join Christopher Cecil and Morgan Albrecht as they go full spiral on the death of differentiation, why websites have all turned into gingerbread houses, and how brands keep contorting themselves to appease algorithms instead of actual humans.

Along the way: taste vs. templates, AI slop dressed as strategy, a quick séance for pre-Canva creativity, and a deeply disturbing prediction that Comic Sans might be on its way back.

]]> A highly polished brand used to mean something. Now any brand can look flawless in just minutes...even the fake ones selling mystery vitamins from a storage unit. AI has officially handed everyone the same shiny aesthetic, which means the visual arms race is over...and nobody won.

Join Christopher Cecil and Morgan Albrecht as they go full spiral on the death of differentiation, why websites have all turned into gingerbread houses, and how brands keep contorting themselves to appease algorithms instead of actual humans.

Along the way: taste vs. templates, AI slop dressed as strategy, a quick séance for pre-Canva creativity, and a deeply disturbing prediction that Comic Sans might be on its way back.

]]> SLANT false No 2416 1 4 full What Happened To Giving A Damn? What Happened To Giving A Damn? https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/what-happened-to-giving-a-damn/ https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/what-happened-to-giving-a-damn/#comments Wed, 24 Sep 2025 15:35:48 -0400 slantastic.podbean.com/a68565b1-1897-3258-96e7-cf07ee7120b5 In this episode, SLANT's Christopher Cecil and Allison Langford spiral (as usual) into a painfully real question: why does everything suck now? From lifeless Starbucks buildings to the tragic fall of a once-glorious salad, this episode unpacks the slow erosion of brand value, culture, and care. They break down three types of brand decay (passive, active, and internal rot), rail against enshittification, and make a desperate plea for brands to actually give a damn.

Also: Steve Jobs, broken windows, Craisins, Spirit Airlines, and a moment of silence for the Mosquito Magnet.

]]> In this episode, SLANT's Christopher Cecil and Allison Langford spiral (as usual) into a painfully real question: why does everything suck now? From lifeless Starbucks buildings to the tragic fall of a once-glorious salad, this episode unpacks the slow erosion of brand value, culture, and care. They break down three types of brand decay (passive, active, and internal rot), rail against enshittification, and make a desperate plea for brands to actually give a damn.

Also: Steve Jobs, broken windows, Craisins, Spirit Airlines, and a moment of silence for the Mosquito Magnet.

]]> SLANT false No 3100 1 3 full The Death of Special The Death of Special https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/the-death-of-special/ https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/the-death-of-special/#comments Mon, 21 Jul 2025 07:00:00 -0400 slantastic.podbean.com/3a80ed25-be03-3973-9be4-12c4366eb559 In this episode of This Might Be Nothing, SLANT’s Christopher Cecil and Will Rothschild mourn the slow, quiet death of "special." From childhood Nutella smuggling operations to Whataburger betrayal and Rolex gatekeeping, they unpack what happens when brands go from rare to everywhere and why ubiquity might be the fastest way to lose customer loyalty. Also featuring: a Mercedes eulogy, nostalgia-induced food bias, and a shoutout to the days when Coors beer was the hottest contraband east of the Mississippi.

TL;DR: You can be everywhere, or you can be special. Pick one.

]]> In this episode of This Might Be Nothing, SLANT’s Christopher Cecil and Will Rothschild mourn the slow, quiet death of "special." From childhood Nutella smuggling operations to Whataburger betrayal and Rolex gatekeeping, they unpack what happens when brands go from rare to everywhere and why ubiquity might be the fastest way to lose customer loyalty. Also featuring: a Mercedes eulogy, nostalgia-induced food bias, and a shoutout to the days when Coors beer was the hottest contraband east of the Mississippi.

TL;DR: You can be everywhere, or you can be special. Pick one.

]]> SLANT false No 2161 1 2 full Why Are Businesses So Afraid To Be Human? Why Are Businesses So Afraid To Be Human? https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/why-are-businesses-so-afraid-to-be-human/ https://slantastic.podbean.com/e/why-are-businesses-so-afraid-to-be-human/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2025 05:49:47 -0400 slantastic.podbean.com/fb2a74f6-fbc0-3cfc-87d3-ce7696a76039 Join SLANT creative director Christopher Cecil and Lead Strategist Will Rothschild as they spiral through emotional marketing, cold jargon, and the eternal war against Corporate Beige™. Along the way: a dig at Batteries Plus, romanticizing unicorns, comparing SaaS marketing to a hostage situation, and an unreasonably strong case for proper sunglasses storage.

]]> Join SLANT creative director Christopher Cecil and Lead Strategist Will Rothschild as they spiral through emotional marketing, cold jargon, and the eternal war against Corporate Beige™. Along the way: a dig at Batteries Plus, romanticizing unicorns, comparing SaaS marketing to a hostage situation, and an unreasonably strong case for proper sunglasses storage.

]]> SLANT, LLC false No 2769 1 1 full