68: "What's the noose around too many marketer's necks?" with ...Gasp! founder Giles Edwards & JP Castlin

There’s a Freaky Friday/Trading Places film vibe to this episode, as JP Castlin puts the boot very much on the other foot to volley a tonne of tough posers to the outspoken founder and Creative Director of Gasp, and this show’s usual host, Giles Edwards. A “wonderful overachiever”, he’s also the creator of ISOLATED Talks and has collaborated on two #1 best-selling books. He believes in “proper (timeless) Marketing” and its vital role in the boardroom and usually rants about this, and more, with esteemed guests on this podcast. But today, it is him who is in the hot seat.He talks to us on almost becoming Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, learning Serbo-Croat and the fundamentals of communication, what he set out to do with Gasp, media neutrality, the noose around the neck of many marketers (aka the billable hour), awards, behavioural economics, stand-up comedy, and Wu-Tang Clan. Plus, find out why the front page of an Indonesian newspaper dubbed him “Mr. Cheater” after an ill-fated spelling bee…/////You can find Giles on Twitter and LinkedIn.  Enjoy all 67 episodes of Call to Action so far.  Check out and support ISOLATED Talks.   Don’t Be Brave, Be Right by Giles Edwards and Ryan Wallman.Here’s the Hans Brinker ads, the Party Cannon logo, and Gasp’s award-winning crumpled up letter campaign.A huge thank you to a friend of the show JP Castlin who, not being content with being on this podcast twice already, humbly invited himself to be a guest host. You can listen to both his episodes of Call to Action here and here. Giles’s book recommendations are: Delusions of Brandeur by Ryan Wallman   Copywriting Is by Andrew Boulton   How to Make Better Advertising and Advertising Better by Vic Polkinghorne and Andy Palmer   A Smile in the Mind by Beryl McAlhone and David Stuart    Sync by Steven Strogatz   /////