Ad Age Chief Poggi Tells Wharton: Brands Blend Nostalgia with "Unhinged" Humor to Reach Multi-Generational Audiences
Jeanine Poggi, editor-in-chief of Advertising Age, told Wharton Business School faculty this month that brands are increasingly combining nostalgic elements with unconventional humor in their advertising strategies, a shift that reflects marketers' attempts to capture attention across multiple generations simultaneously.
Speaking on the Knowledge at Wharton podcast on February 5, Poggi discussed what she characterized as the "evolution of high-stakes advertising" with Wharton marketing professors Americus Reed and Barbara Kahn. The conversation, which ran 29 minutes, centered on how creative strategies are adapting to fragmented media consumption and changing audience expectations.
For CFOs overseeing marketing budgets, the discussion signals a broader recalibration in how advertising dollars are being deployed. The emergence of what Poggi described as "unhinged" humor—a departure from traditional brand safety guardrails—suggests companies are willing to take creative risks to break through increasingly cluttered digital environments. This approach carries both opportunity and reputational risk, particularly for publicly traded companies where brand perception directly impacts enterprise value.
Poggi also addressed the "surprising emergence" of AI-generated creative in advertising production, though the podcast description provided limited detail on specific implementations or cost implications. The technology's role in creative development represents a potential efficiency gain for marketing departments, but also raises questions about creative differentiation when multiple brands deploy similar AI tools.
The timing of the discussion is notable. As marketing leaders prepare their 2026 budgets, many are grappling with how to allocate resources between traditional brand-building and performance marketing, while simultaneously experimenting with AI tools that promise to reduce production costs. Poggi's perspective from Advertising Age—a publication that has chronicled industry shifts since 1930—offers insight into which trends represent fundamental changes versus temporary fads.
The podcast marks part of Wharton's ongoing "Marketing Matters" series, which examines how consumer behavior and marketing strategy intersect with business performance. Reed and Kahn, both tenured Wharton faculty, regularly explore how marketing decisions impact financial outcomes—a connection increasingly scrutinized by boards and investors.
What remains unclear from the discussion is whether the nostalgic-plus-unconventional approach Poggi identified represents a sustainable strategy or a response to short-term attention economics. For finance leaders, the key question is whether these creative pivots drive measurable business outcomes or simply generate social media buzz without corresponding revenue impact.
The full podcast is available through Wharton's Knowledge platform, which publishes research and expert commentary on business topics ranging from AI implementation to public policy.
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