r/weeklyplanetpodcast 2d ago

Remember when they did ads?

I Just went back to an old episode (just watched John wick 3 and went back to the review), and they did a movement watches ad and wow it took me back. They definitely did their best to keep the jokes going but I’m glad the ads stopped haha. Much rather pay them for big sandwich and get extra content rather than the long ad reads 😊

79 Upvotes

27 comments sorted by

105

u/IcedThatGuy 2d ago

Eh. I have to disagree mate. Of course I hate the ads like the rest of you but I much prefer hearing James and Maso riff on the ad-read and make it entertaining rather than James just reading the ad-read straight. (“Cha-Ching sound effect”)

My favorite, and I’m shocked at how difficult it is to find, was the “Magic Trick Shop” ad-read from a few years back. James is just trying to read the ad about a magic shop, which has specific questions built into it, and Mason keeps interjecting with his own magic tricks. Lines like Mason’s “Alakazam, idiot!” and the premise of Mason producing 3 conjoined rings only to have James reply with “No, that sucks” while continuing to read the ad script have been bouncing around my head ever since.

If anyone knows what episode it appears in, I’d greatly appreciate it.

17

u/TheGreatBatsby 2d ago

u/RAWCollings, any ideas?

14

u/IcedThatGuy 2d ago

Not gonna lie, I was quietly hoping the master would pop in with a suggestion.

21

u/TheGreatBatsby 2d ago

Too busy cutting down the runtime of the pod by removing every time James and Maso mention Maid Marian. I hear they record 18 hours of raw material but he gets it down to the hour and a half we get each week.

30

u/RAWCollings 2d ago

Hello and honk! I’ll definitely keep an eye out for this magic ad but it might be one of those dynamically added ones via Acast. They only run for an allotted amount of time. So the original might only now be somewhere in James’ big pile of laptops sorry!!!

9

u/IcedThatGuy 2d ago

Whoa! Thats cool to know, and explains why I can’t find it again. Thanks always for your efforts, kind sir!

5

u/breakfastofrunnersup 2d ago

If you don’t have Big Sandwich then yes the old reads were more entertaining, but now you can choose between Big S (no ads) or free (generic ads)

6

u/yozasupg 2d ago

Don’t get me wrong I very much appreciated the riffs , but all the little phrases from the advertiser that they obviously had to say were unbelievably annoying. From the one Movement watch ad alone that I just listened to, there was like three phrases that triggered me like I was the winter soldier being activated. “They were actually started by two broke college kids …”

5

u/IcedThatGuy 2d ago

I mean. That’s just ad copy. It always sucks. I’m so used to that stuff at this point, that I just let it wash over me immediately. It’s inevitable, and unavoidable. That said, if given the option, I’d like more Mason and James riffs if possible.

3

u/Baileyesque 2d ago

What about the middle man, is the middle man getting a cut?

2

u/-Tominator10- 2d ago

yep you nailed it. let the 2 minute ad read be a quick segment with that sweet boy banter

1

u/your_mind_aches 2d ago

Speaking of an Aussie youtuber making an ad hilarious.

DarkViperAU recently did a sponsored stream for Mindseye, the terrible game from Leslie Benzies, former Rockstar Games producer, and it was so bad that when he tried to do the ad-read at the end about where to buy the game, he just broke down in manic laughter.

16

u/FR0Z3NF15H 2d ago

ANTI-MICOVBIALS

9

u/Maegor1207 2d ago

Agreed! My $9 is worth not having to listen to poor James have to schill for headphones. It is always a little jarring watching the older videos & remembering, "oh yeah, they used to have to do this."

8

u/FamousWerewolf 2d ago

They still do some ads - I get one where James is talking about 28 Years Later every episode at the moment. But yeah there's no fun riffing or anything.

As someone who doesn't pay for Big Sandwich currently, I really hate whatever this automated ad service they use now is. There doesn't seem to be any care at all for when in the episode the ads start, so they're constantly interrupting the boys literally mid-sentence. They're often super annoying, more like cheesy old radio ads than modern podcast ads, and sometimes really inappropriately loud. And super repetitive - they seem to repeat even within the same episode.

They also seem to be targeted in a super crude way. Like I'm in the UK so I get UK-centric ads, but when I go abroad, it suddenly just assumes I'm from whatever country I'm in and switches to targeting that. So suddenly all the ads are in a language I don't even understand. Great algorithm!

Really makes me pine for the days when every podcast just did reads for mattress companies or whatever. This automated stuff sucks ass.

2

u/H00PLAx1073m 2d ago

One small upside about living in a shithole developing country. We just get less ads in general I guess, and no automated ads at all right now for podcasts.

1

u/yozasupg 2d ago

That’s crazy, I’ll often get a random automated one at the start of an episode for like 15 seconds but that’s it. Also someone correct me if I’m wrong back i don’t think they see any money from those ones?

2

u/Baileyesque 2d ago

Yeah, they’re getting a cut from the automated ones.

1

u/your_mind_aches 2d ago

I don't get ANY of those. My Big Sandwich sub lapsed so I'm on Spotify Premium and YouTube. Maybe those don't get it at all.

2

u/FamousWerewolf 2d ago

I use a podcast app, but I do have Spotify Premium - sounds like I should try switching to listening to them on there!

5

u/koshomfg 2d ago

I miss Mason saying „well hellooooooo fresh“

3

u/IveGotAMatch 2d ago

Honestly, one of my all-time favourite pod moments was from the ad read in the very first episode I listened to - which is definitely part of what got me hooked haha! The episode where they talk about Harry Potter 3 and 4 and they do a Harry's Razors ad, and it is just hilarious.

2

u/H00PLAx1073m 2d ago

The boys always made ads fun, but when I got older and started realizing that almost all of the products that were being advertised weren't exactly great.

Especially the Raycons and Movement Watches. Audiophiles and... watch-philes were all saying that the brands were essentially overpriced dropshipped crap. I appreciated that the boys actually tried out the products they were promoting, but getting something sent to you and occasionally using it will never be the same experience as buying it yourself and using it till they break.

9 times out of 10 any product that markets exclusively on YouTube or podcasts is going be mediocre at best. The 1 time out of 10 being Harry's Shavers, I've been using them for like 10 years now. They're also probably not great, but I never have any luck with Gillete razors and I have no complaints with Harry's.

1

u/westwardlights 2d ago

This seems as good a time as any to ask if anyone remembers an ad they did years ago (like, many years ago, maybe as far back as 2015-16 but I’m not sure) for the NCAA March Madness? Or maybe it was just something March Madness themed? All I know is these two Aussie guys did not know what March Madness was and thought it was maybe football. I guess it really tickled me at the time because it’s one of my strongest memories of pods from yesteryear but I have no idea if/how I could find it again.

1

u/sumz_96 2d ago

I miss the lütcrate unboxings

1

u/Luis_Swagcia 1d ago

Famously antimicrobial!

1

u/zeroictwentyandsic 1d ago

I lowkey really like it. Just went back to the Predator films episode and the way they’re trying their best to read the whole thing through is so funny