Show Notes
"Advertising is the loudest, most publicly visible, and highest-stakes storytelling that your brand will do. And one misaligned ad can destroy and erode years of trust that you have built." — Rain Bennett
ORDER The Chief Storytelling Officer here! https://amzn.to/4A2xxyQ
Description Most brands treat advertising like a numbers game.
But advertising is still storytelling. In fact, it's the loudest, most publicly visible, and highest-stakes storytelling your brand will ever do. And if that ad is misaligned with your brand narrative, one spot can erase years of trust in a matter of days.
In this solo episode, Rain breaks down the advertising chapter of The Chief Storytelling Officer and the role advertising plays in the Narrative Operating System—the tip of the spear, the ask, the first point of contact between your brand and the people you're trying to reach.
Using the now-infamous 2019 Peloton holiday ad as a cautionary tale and Aviation Gin's rapid-fire response as a masterclass in brand alignment, Rain unpacks exactly what separates an ad that builds community from one that blows it up. He closes with a three-question ad audit you can run on your own campaigns today.
Key Takeaways
In this episode, you will learn to:
Understand where advertising fits in the Narrative Operating System as the tip of the spear Diagnose why the Peloton ad failed — not just as storytelling but as brand alignment Recognize why Aviation Gin's response worked and what made it possible at that speed Audit any ad in three questions: does it reflect your values, is it recognizable without the logo, and does it invite transformation? Build advertising that invites people into your story world rather than pushing them toward a transaction
Links & Resources
Episodes Referenced: EP 235 → Marketing and the Narrative Operating System EP 225 → Brand and the Narrative Operating System EP 230 → Product and the Narrative Operating System Case Study → Peloton 2019 Holiday Ad Case Study → Aviation Gin "Peloton Wife" Response Ad Ad Campaign Referenced → Nike: Just Do It Ad Campaign Referenced → Patagonia: Don't Buy This Jacket Ad Campaign Referenced → Apple: 1984 Agency Referenced → Wieden and Kennedy (Nike's long-standing creative agency)
Book → The Chief Storytelling Officer by Rain Bennett → https://www.rainbennett.com/store
For more storytelling tips and strategies, visit: Website → https://rainbennett.com Podcast → https://thestorytellinglabpodcast.com
Or follow along at: TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@chiefstorytellingofficer Twitter/X → https://twitter.com/rainbennett Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/rainbennett Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/thestorytellinglab YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@RainBennett Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Storytelling Lab
"You've got to manage both sides. You're the captain of the ship. You let the playful side talk and then you get it organized and manage it. People are dominant on one side or the other, and either side can be very bad if you go to the extreme." — Kim Krizan
"Storytelling is local. But we are a global brand, so we do need consistency — and enough flexibility that everything can be used at a local level, because what resonates in China is not the same thing that resonates in Kenya." — Sydnye White
"You do the story that you want to do because you believe in it and it will find an audience. You have to be passionate about something and not try and hop off what's already out there. You have to absolutely 1000% have a vision." — Leslie Zemeckis
"The best of the writers know structures are important. And then they forget that they've been intuitively following a structure and tell the world you don't need structure. The rest of the people think they don't need structure and realize by the hundredth page they don't know what the story is going to be." —Anubhav Srivastava
"A narrative lives or dies on the conviction of the most senior authorized leaders of the organizational system. The story is the strategy. A company without a story is usually a company without a strategy." — Michael Margolis | Storied, Inc.