American Advertising Legend Roy Spence on Purpose, Profit, and Finding Common Ground

What this episode is about

The discussion centers on Roy Spence, a prominent figure in American advertising, who emphasizes the importance of compromise and finding common ground in efforts to unite people around a shared purpose for future generations. He shares insights from his journey co-founding GSDNM, highlighting how passionate and purposeful marketing can not only drive business success but also create positive societal change.

Key takeaways

• Compromise isn't surrender; it's a conversation that may lead to shared purpose, not just shared politics.
• Roy's journey proves that great ideas often start with a wild dream—and a $5,000 loan from a friend.
• Marketing as a force for good? Yes, it can redefine success from profit margins to purpose-driven impact.
• Taking competition seriously while not taking yourself too seriously could be the secret sauce for entrepreneurial success.
• If you prioritize kindness, you're investing in relationships—because every stranger is fighting their own battle.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Tommy Mello (Host) · 12 min speaking
• Roy Spence (Guest) · 17 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Roy Spence, Herb Keller, PGA Tour, Brownwood, Texas
2. 10:00 – 15:00: Make It movement
3. 15:00 – 20:00: Make It movement
4. 25:00 – 29:03: I'm an American

Notable quotes from "American Advertising Legend Roy Spence on Purpose, Profit, and Finding Common Ground"

• Together on purpose for the next generation. Innovative, iconic, passionate. Our guest today is the co-founder and chairman of GSDNM, one of America's most influential…

  about Roy Spence · at 0:18

• Think entrepreneurship is the miracle of America if we really go and try it. If you can dream it, you can build it. I grew up in a little small town called Brownwood, Texas.…

  about Brownwood, Texas · at 1:57

• Client's business. And that never had been said in marketing before. And about three or four years into the deal, I get a call from a guy named Herb Keller, and he had heard…

  about Herb Keller · at 3:40

• It's a moment in time with your marketing when you find something. Such a good slogan. You've worked with CEOs from Southwest, Walmart, John Deere, BMW, PGA. What did you learn about leadership from sitting at those tables?

  about BMW · at 8:32

• There's Zigg Ziggler once said, you could have anything you want in life if you just help enough people get what they want.

  about Zig Ziggler · at 10:30

• Didn't know what these things were. And so I started the Make It movement funded nonprofit on my own. My purpose is to use marketing as a force for good to reach kids while…

  about Make It movement · at 13:29

• I called my office. We had film groups all over America. I finally get home 8 days later. We're doing it and we produced this thing called I'm an American PSA. And at the end of it, Tommy, it said e- plurbashunum.

  about I'm an American · at 25:54

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Roy Spence — Person · Main guest · 1 mention · first at 1:29
  Central interview subject; discusses founding his ad agency, purpose-driven marketing, and campaigns like “Don’t mess with Texas” and “I’m an American.”
• Herb Keller — Person · Referenced business leader / client contact · 1 mention · first at 3:46
  Mentioned as an early call that helped shape Roy’s thinking about brand purpose (Southwest as the “freedom business”). Name appears as “Herb Keller” in transcript (commonly Herb Kelleher).
• Zig Ziggler — Person · Referenced motivational speaker/author · 2 mentions
  Cited for a well-known maxim about helping others; supports the episode’s theme of service, purpose, and “givers” vs “takers.”

Companies & orgs

• GSDNM — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions
  An influential marketing and advertising agency co-founded by Roy Spence, known for its work with major brands and its philosophy of marketing as a force for good.
  Generation. Innovative, iconic, passionate. Our guest today is the co-founder and chairman of GSDNM, one of America's most influential marketing and advertising agencies. When…
• BMW — Company · Business focus · 2 mentions
  One of the major brands that partnered with GSDNM, mentioned as part of the agency's portfolio.
• PGA Tour — Company · Business focus · 1 mention · first at 1:07
  A major sports organization that worked with GSDNM, mentioned as part of the agency's portfolio.
  It's a moment in time with your marketing when you find something. Such a good slogan. You've worked with CEOs from Southwest, Walmart, John Deere, BMW, PGA. What did you learn about leadership from sitting at those tables?

Concepts & topics

• Make It movement — Concept · Core topic · 4 mentions · first at 13:32
  A nonprofit initiative aimed at encouraging students to discover their purpose and pursue careers that make them financially independent soon after high school.
• I'm an American — Concept · Key argument · 4 mentions · first at 25:34
  A PSA campaign created after 9/11 to unite Americans, showcasing the power of marketing for social good.

Places & events

• Brownwood, Texas — Place · Historical context · 1 mention · first at 2:05
  Roy Spence's hometown, mentioned as part of his personal background and early life.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 I learned that meeting people in the middle is not easy. Meeting people in the middle compromising is not an evil thing. It is sitting down and talking to each other. Don't give up on the idea that we can come together on something. It might not be on politics, but let me tell you what it can be on. We can come together on purpose for the next generation. Innovative, iconic, passionate. Our guest today is the co-founder and chairman of GSDNM, one of America's most influential marketing and advertising agencies. When you have a mighty purpose and your purpose is to help every one of your clients, you will not only have a great life, but you'll make a big difference.

0:38 He's a Wall Street Journal bestselling author and the creative mind behind the iconic tagline, don't mess with Texas.

0:45 Don't mess with Texas. In 1971, Roy and three fellow graduates from the University of Texas launched their company GSDN with $5,000 in a dream.

0:56 My job is to take dumbass ideas and make them brilliant. Under Royy's leadership, GSDN became a powerhouse partner to some of the world's most influential brands. Southwest Airlines, Walmart, BMW, and the PGA Tour. Follow your passion. Follow your purpose.

1:11 Roy has built a career around the belief that marketing should be a force for good. If you can dream it, you can build it.

1:17 Be kind to everybody you meet, cuz everybody's fighting some kind of battle. Get ready. This interview will change the way you think about marketing, entrepreneurship, and the American dream. Welcome back to the Mellow Millionaire. Today I'm in Austin with Roy Spence. Known for his wit, wisdom, and Texasized charisma, Roy has inspired audiences around the world to make a difference, not just a profit. Roy, let's go all the way back to 1971. Four college graduates, $5,000 in the bank and no real business plan. How did you just talk about the beginning?

1:51 Well, Tommy, you know a lot about this stuff. If you're if you're a dreamer and you and you're an entrepreneur, and I think entrepreneurship is the miracle of America if we really go and try it. If you can dream it, you can build it. I grew up in a little small town called Brownwood, Texas. It's about 140 mi from Austin. I went to UT and that was the moment between Aussie and Harriet and the Vietnam War. The world changed. Finally, one of my guys said, "Why don't we go into advertising?" And Tommy, I said, "Great. What's that?" I was 19. I had no idea. So, I went down to the bank, brand new tie-dye t-shirt, ponytail was looking great. Not anymore, but anyway. Um, I was 19. So, I just sat down at the chair. He tapped me on the shoulder. And he said, "Young man, you have an appointment." And I went, "No, but you're not like busy." So he said, "What do you need? $5,000 to start a business. What's your business plan?"

2:47 And I told him, and it's still on our wall. We want to stay together, stay in Austin, make a difference, and get rich. And he loan me the money. You know what the real story is? 20 years later, Tommy, I've been this place, and I walk up and a guy said, "See that old man by the window with a cane? Do you know him?" I went, "Yes, sir. Robert Sne, a lawyer, kind of mentor of ours. He said, "You remember that $5,000 you borrowed?" I he co-signed that note and never told you. He wanted you to believe you got it on your own. And lesson learned, somebody helps you, you help somebody else. And then we started the business.

3:21 We didn't know anything about advertising. So, we didn't break the rules. We just made them up. What we loved was, and we learned this, is that in marketing, you can use marketing as a force for good. You really can. And we didn't know any different. We were kids. We were in the business to build our client's business. And that never had been said in marketing before. And about three or four years into the deal, I get a call from a guy named Herb Keller, and he had heard about us. And he said, "Son, do you know who I am?" I went, "No." And he said, "Well, come see me."

3:56 So I drove to San Antonio. Herb's the founder of Southwest Airlines. He had 28 airplanes. I was 28 years old. We talked for two hours and he finally said, "Son, do you drink?" And I went, "A lot." So he pulled out a mayonnaise jar of Mscal. So I hadn't had Mscal since cuz we drank it all. But he said, "What business are we in?" And I said, "I don't think you're in the airline business." And he said, "What are you talking about?" I said, "You tried to three times the Supreme Court to deregulate the airline industry because only rich people could fly.

4:33 15% of the American people had flown. I don't think you're in the airline business. I think you're in the freedom business.

4:39 Someone has the freedom to fly. Because of you, today, Southwest Airlines is a symbol of freedom. It's a moment in time with your mark and when you find something like when we came up with ding, you're now free to move about the country. We wrote that because we remembered that every airline had a ding.

5:04 You are now free to move about the country when they were landing or whatever it was. And every time people would hear the ding, they'd think of Southwest, even if they were flying United. We still do represent him 45 years. He taught me one great lesson and you'll love this. I think Tommy, take the competition seriously, but not yourself.

5:23 It's pretty profound. I mean, a lot of people, you know, I was with a guy yesterday and he talked about cold calling, going down the yellow pages, building business, and I just found if you take care of people, I'm not saying this to be conceited or my ego, but I want your dreams to come true.

5:38 We learned that if you treat your people right, they treat the customer right. And if the customer doesn't like you, you get fired. But if they love you, they promote you. And that's what happened to our little company. People would I got call a collect call from Sam Walton. He said, "Oroy, I like you because my dog is named Oroy. You come see me." So, long story short, borrowed money. Got to Bentonville, Arkansas. He's sitting there. I have a briefcase with nothing in it. And I put it and I'm Sam's over there, Mr. Sam. I'd never been there. This is Walmart. I'm 30 years old. And he had heard what we did with Southwest. So finally he looked at me and said, "Oh, Roy, I love you, but where's the rest of your staff?" And I'm staring at him. I have a briefcase of nothing in it, and my knees are shaking.

6:25 Just I said, "Well, Mr. Sam, there's an old saying in Texas, one riot, one ranger, what kind of problem you have." Sam Walston, Tommy, fell on the floor and grabbed me and he said, "Oh, Roy, you're hired." And again, when we were talking, Mr. Sam, I was back there recently and I'd say, "You have to advertise." Cuz he didn't want to cuz he's cuz if you don't, you're going to cheat the ordinary citizen out of being able to buy the same stuff as rich people. And he went, "You're right." And so we introduced save money, live better. You know what I just realized, Roy? There's another Roy that lives here. He's called the wizard of ads. And I spent a day with him. He got his big thing with Rolex and jewelry type stuff. And he did it in front of me. He's like, "Imagine a time when you're faced against everything. You're hiking. You reached the pinnacle of success. You're looking down. You've just hiked Mount Everest. Rolex, you

7:27 deserve it. You ain't bad, buddy. But he was he was special." Yeah, we laugh sometime because, you know, Roy Rogers kind of killed our name. Roy. There's not many Royy's, but I'm glad mine is. You've also coined the phrase don't mess with Texas. Tell me about that. So we they we were asked to pitch it and we were competing with don't pollute give a hoot. My partner Tim Mccclure reached down and got a fudsicle or whatever it was and wrote on it this isn't litter it's trash and he wrote don't mess with Texas.

8:00 Don't mess with Texas. We reduce litter by 76% through marketing. And you know what? Willie Nelson sang it. We had everyone volunteering. It was the most run PSA in the history of America. Don't mess with Texas. And then what we found every TV in the station in the c in Texas called us and said, "Can we run it for free?" A moment in what? What' you say? Free. Because then Willie did it and George Foreman did it. Yeah. And the Dallas Cowboys did it. And it's not just polit. It's a moment in time with your marketing when you find something. Such a good slogan. You've worked with CEOs from Southwest, Walmart, John Deere, BMW, PGA. What did you learn about leadership from sitting at those tables?

8:46 What are some of the the common denominators that you've seen and see today? What makes a great leader?

8:53 Great leaders, first of all, have discovered what they were born to do, not supposed to do in life. And let me repeat that. It's called purpose. First of all, Aristotle said it the best about purpose 3,000 years ago. Where your talents and the needs of the world intersect, there in lies your purpose. America needs to go back to that again because we've got to let our young people know you can become great at what you're good at. So one of the things I found that great leaders they've discovered what they were good at and become great at it.

9:36 Secondly I think great leaders realize their most important asset is the people they hire their people. And by the way here's a little my mom's story. She used to tell me now Roy there are two kinds of people vinegar people and honey people. She she said, "Vine people are takers. Honey people are givers. Hang out with the honey people." And somehow I found leaders believe that you hear you hire the right people, the givers, and sooner or later the takers will be gone. I'm serious. And finally, I think I learned I really do believe that there is a golden rule. And he or she who has a goal should not rule. You ought to treat people like you want to be treated. And that passion like you have for your business, you have purpose, passion, have the right people.

10:30 There's uh Zigg Ziggler once said, you could have anything you want in life if you just help enough people get what they want.

10:35 Exactly right. And I just believe in that. And you know what, Tommy, that's not kumbaya. I mean, givers do it naturally. Yesterday, I was just thinking, I was born in the United States of America. I'm very fortunate. My fingers work. I don't have any pain. I wake up every day with a lot of energy. There's so many things that have happened that have been divine for me. I mean, you got your energy. I mean, you

10:58 every day I'm 77. 77. Well, I look fabulous, you know, but you do. Well, I'll be 77 October 10th. You can send me a damn present. But, uh,

11:07 Octo October what? October 10th. October 10th. What do you see? What makes truly great brands in your eyes? And how is it different than just a product?

11:17 Well, uh, great point again. I I think a brand is is a um sacred promise. Meaning if you have a brand like Southwest, you have a brand u like the PJ tour that we have don't now. But a brand is a sacred promise you make to your customers and to your employees and to the country and to the world. I always believe if you have a brand that you truly believe in and it's doing the right thing, every time you violate that sacred promise, your brand is diluted. So, it's always important to, for example, if you say, um, we want to save you money so you can live better.

12:01 Every day Walmart, they wake up with all their folks and say, this isn't a theme line. This is our purpose. If we save people money, they're going to live better. And every time we v violate that, it's our fault. Secondly, I do believe you have to be different before you can be better. And you know that building a business and uh indifferent for a purpose. I really do think different is better than better.

12:29 You know, a lot of people that I talk to, they say we're the best. And I'm like, what does that even mean? You know, we're open nights, weekends, we do background checks. And I'm talking more a little bit about home service. I love what I do. I'm very proud of what we do. And we were essential during co I mean, we we were deemed we got to go like now I don't mind talking to a doctor and a dentist and getting in a room with a lawyer and saying, you know, and by the way, I feel like it it's something that uh we you know, I I decided to get a master's degree, but going back it didn't do anything for me. Um, I love the fact that someone could come out of 11th grade and make six figures and take care of their family without any debt.

13:08 Well, let's talk let's just jump into that. So, what what what is what are you working on?

13:12 So, about 2019, they're saying we have a massive number of jobs and nobody applying. And normally in America, there's massive number of people applying and no jobs. So, I thought about it and I went, "Are you kidding me?" And I realized these young people didn't know what these things were. And so I started the Make It movement funded nonprofit on my own. My purpose is to use marketing as a force for good to reach kids while they're in school and show them careers close to home where they can become financially independent soon after high school. We support teachers, school counselors, CTE instructors, encouraging students to start the journey of discovering their purpose and making a lot of money doing what they love to do soon after high school so they can make it in Texas. So, we've been testing it in central Texas and there's one thing all Americans agree on. Pew Research just came out

14:14 with this and I had no idea when I started the Make It movement. 98% of all parents want their kids to grow up and be financially independent doing something they enjoy. So, we want millions of young people, whether it's in plumbing or fixing or dentistry, it doesn't matter. Find out what you love to do early in life and go do it. You know, I was just on Mike Rose podcast.

14:38 Yes. And he said, "Listen, you don't need to love it's not the sexy jobs." cuz you know I was going to be an orthodontist and then I interned with a dentist ready to take my DATs. I mean I'm studying for him and he goes, "You know something, Tommy?" He goes, "How much do you know about business?" I said, "Well, my dad owned a business. My mom's a realtor, so she runs her own business." He said, "If I were you, I'd go take the GMAT and get get a master's degree in business because you know why? I don't even own this practice. A businessman does without a he's not a dentist." And that changed the trajectory. And I can't imagine even though I love kids, I couldn't imagine like, "Hi, I'm going to be working in your mouth all day today."

15:19 Like I love what I do. Yeah. And it's and bottom line is, you know, if we do believe that that everybody is encoded differently and America was born different, not perfect. We've never were born to be standardized,

15:34 right? We were born to be entrepreneurial. Now, you got it. By the way, if it's a character issue, that's different. But the make it movement is on a mission to re ignite the American dream. Find out what you are good at and you love to do while you're in high school.

15:52 Well, they took shop out of high school. Yeah. Our whole my whole thing is to bring it back. Name it differently because AI is a great tool for builders.

16:02 It partners with human beings to help us do things. Partners, not not driving the human beings.

16:08 A real quick story, too. When I was in the seventh grade, my mom was a civics teacher, by the way. And by the way, my older sister had spinal bipida, so she never walked. And she was supposed to live to be 4 months, and she lived to be 49 years old. Susan Spence because of my mom. I pushed her to school every day, pushed her home. And uh she graduated from high school and never walked. And she went to a community college here. And all of you out there, don't get mad, but I'd push my sister during the fall around and we listen to the Cowboys when they used to win. She passed away and uh all those years I thought I'd been pushing her. She'd been pushing me.

16:51 Wow. And my mom was civics teacher. So, here's how I started the Make It movement. When I was in the seventh grade, I turned in a paper and I got it back. I had eight misspelled words and it was a huge C minus. So I'm walking home pushing my sister and I go, "My mom, mom didn't say anything." So next year, 8th grade, I turn in another paper. Tommy, I didn't have eight misspel words. I had 11.

17:17 Oh boy. At the top was an A minus. And I said, "Mom, I put I don't get it." And she said, "You can't spell, but the teacher and I believe you can write." And she put her arm around me. Again, I get emotional about this, but she said, "I don't want you to spend another second of your life trying to be average at what you're bad at. I want you to spend the rest of your life trying to be great at what you're good at."

17:48 I want to ask you uh three questions I ask on every podcast that repeats. So, what's one piece of gamechanging advice that you wish you knew in your 20s? I guess I wish I had known that making money is easier than managing it for me. Uh I want every kid to be able to not only make money but manage it. And I wish I know more how to do that. Fortunately, I married a great person and my partners helped me manage my money.

18:19 What did Einstein say is the biggest power in the universe? Do you know compound interest and if it's working for you, it's doing great. when you got a 22% credit card, it's not working. It's working against you.

18:30 So, I'm glad I had, again, I had givers around me. I always believe in marrying the doers and dreamers. And dreamers, we see the mountain top, but we're not always the fastest to climb it. And the doers will climb all the wrong mountains perfect. Marry the doers and dreamers. Get the inbetweeners out of here. And by the way, parents, listen to me. Quit asking your kids, "What do you want to do?" Ask them what do they love to do. And if they say fishing, don't you know what fishing guides make in Colorado now?

19:02 What are they making? 65,000 a year and work six months. If they love fishing, go figure out how to make money fishing. I fell into Garage accidentally and I'm good at it. I I mean, it's a pretty easy trade to learn, but I love meeting people. I mean, one day I'm on a ladder, a guy's telling me he's I I love Bernie shirt. And by the way, at this point, I didn't really know who Bernie was. And I'm not a big fan of Bernie's uh philosophies, but I just sat there and listened and learned and for 3 hours I listened about Bernie Sanders. Another time World War II vet took the day off after that and just stayed on his porch.

19:35 That's how I grew the business. I just I genuinely would listen. Yeah. And how to win friends and influence people. I have one mouth, two ears. That that's what I do across America. Same thing. By the way, my daddy, his name was Roy. He spoke Spanish before English. He was a roofer. He dropped out of school and then at 95 years old he graduated from high school. And he called me not Roy, he called me Roito all my life, little Roy. And he taught me three things. Be extra kind to everybody you meet. If you have boys, they need hugs, too.

20:09 By the way, I've I'm going to send you my book. I when he passed away, I wrote the 10 essential hugs of life. First of all, you got to hug yourself. And I don't mean fall in love, but love thy neighbor as yourself. Some point, you got to hug good and bad. Secondly, you have to hug your family every day. Even if you're not there. And by the way, Tommy, all every day I I do this with my heart. I do a heart hug to my mom or a friend. You got to hug where you come from. So the 10 essential hugs of life is basically be a hugger. So, you work with a lot of former presidents. What what what are some of the things you took from that?

20:51 Um, when Katrina happened, I got a call from the White House and I said, "Can you help get Mr. Clinton and former President Bush together to do a PSA?" So, I got them together in Little Rock because Bill had just had quadruple bypass surgery and and he said, "Young man, can you let me and Bill have a few minutes?" 3 hours later, they're still talking. And I got a note from one one of the Bush family members said, Barbara said, "You don't know this, but that you the day you got them back together was the day my husband became the dad Bill Clinton ever had." I get a call on Labor Day 5 years ago, Roy, all the former presidents want to get together and help the folks at Harvey. I say, "Okay, Mr.

21:37 President, we have to film tomorrow and you're the only person we all trust." So, I got five camera crews and we filmed Bush, Bush, Clinton, Obama, Carter. I have a picture of the for all the former presidents and I got them all in one PSA. And you know why? They got together for the higher calling of America. Yeah. I learned that meeting people in the middle is not easy, but it's the right thing to do. It's not you're not you're meeting people in the mi middle. Compromising is not an evil thing. It is sitting down and talking to each other.

22:17 You know, I uh what I find when I'm negotiating or just trying to compromise. It's typically if you get down to the root of what the other people want, we both got to walk away feeling like we've got won something. I always say, listen, we both got to win here. I wrote when I wrote the book Elevator, I said, build a business where everybody wins. And when everyone wins, you know, when I play games and I'm competitive, son of a

22:40 really, I really am. And in business, the client could win, the business owner could win, the internal clients, which are my co-workers could win, the vendors get to win. Even my competition, I invite them to come. I invite them by the hundreds. And they're like, why are you sharing this? I'm like, cuz we're elevating the industry. We There's enough water for all of us when we're at our best. No one is too good and everyone's good enough. respecting the dignity of all work. And I think the more we can use the next year about this idea of reigniting the American dream and respecting the dignity of all work and maybe again America can just look at everybody and say no one's too good and everybody's good enough. The key you said there is work.

23:23 That is my grandma. She had five kids. She went door todoor sales. She was on food stamps. I mean, she she didn't have a husband. He left. My mom decided she was going to work three jobs. And the church helped us out a little bit. But, uh, you know, they weren't. And the key there is you go to work. There's a lot of people, especially young men now, that don't they don't want to learn a skill. They like their video games. And it's crazy. I mean, it's it's literally like you got to do something with young men. And by the way, just Americans in general. I just don't want to pick that out. I'm with all my guys I told you last night that work in San Antonio and Austin. And I said "Guys the one thing I learned, you know, if you're on a Southwest airline, what do they say? The oxygen mask, put it on yourself first." And there have been times in my life where I necessar I I didn't I wasn't really satisfied with

24:18 myself. And when you learn to fall in love with yourself, but not like ego, uh, and you have energy and you show up differently, things start coming your way. It's just the the way it feels like you smile differently, your energy, your aura, your vibration, whatever you want to call it. So, I'm going to do some rapid fire questions. What's the favorite ad campaign that you didn't create but wish you had?

24:42 Oh god. Uh, it was literally I love the old Budweiser with the horses. Now look what you started. I got one more question, then we'll ask some closing questions. The most inspiring campaign you have ever worked on? I was in Washington DC uh when 9/11 happened.

25:07 Wow. And I'm getting calls from my office going, "My god, y'all okay? You okay?" Cuz they just bombed the Pentagon. And so got finally got a car. There were five of us. So, we started driving home and I stopped at Duke University where my daughter went and we were in the car and we talked about what can we do? What can we do? And we talked about it and I we said together why don't we create a campaign called I'm an American and we're driving in the car the B we didn't know what happened anything ex said I get to get to Duke University. I tell my daughter we want to do a campaign. And we want people from every walk of life that are citizens to say one line, I'm an American.

25:54 I called my office. We had film groups all over America. I finally get home 8 days later. We're doing it and we produced this thing called I'm an American PSA. And at the end of it, Tommy, it said e- plurbashunum. And that meant out of many one. It was the first motto of America. It ran. It We were up on the air. It ran more than any PSA in the history of America. And everybody was out there says, "I'm an American. I'm an American. I'm an American.

26:26 I I I I am American. I am an American. I am an American. I am American." And so that whole idea that that's you know with all the stuff I've done in my life that to me and I have notebooks of people writing I have postcards I don't know who these people are like families in airports saying we didn't know if we wanted to get on the plane we saw I'm an American and uh so sometimes doing the higher calling thing is the right thing to do and marketing can be a force for good. We talked about a lot of things. U I'm going to let you close us out. Any topic, just maybe something the audience needs to hear.

27:16 I would say right now as we're looking at a divided nation, but also one that is going to celebrate 250 years next year. I think what we've got to do is stand together on something that we believe in. And that's the American dream. Don't give up our on the idea that we can come together on something. It might not be on politics, but let me tell you what it can be on. We can come together on purpose. Oh, shoot. That's good. It's a double meaning.

27:45 Yeah. We can come together on purpose. On purpose and intentionally. We can come together on purpose for the next generation. I want the next generation to be a generation of builders.

27:56 Very profound. Roy, I really enjoyed this. I learned a lot. Thank you so much, friend. Appreciate it.

28:02 Thanks so much for listening to this episode. Like always, we're going to close it out with the Tommy truth, which is a little slice of wisdom from me to you that can help guide you in whatever you're striving towards right now. Words matter, but the way in which we say them matter. I actually do a whole class on this during orientation. Give you guys a great story. One day, I paid 100 grand to go to three events. And this guy comes out in a three-piece suit. Sharp sharp guy gets on stage and he goes, "How many people would like to come up here and be my volunteer?" Nobody really raised their hand. One person. And he goes, "Let me rephrase that question.

28:36 How many people would like to change their life forever?" Everybody had two hands up. And the main thing was is you can't just ask a question. Ask it in a way that people want to engage. It's just the way in which we ask, the way in which the tonality, the way in which the eye contact comes out is so important. And that's it guys. We'll talk to you next week.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "American Advertising Legend Roy Spence on Purpose, Profit, and Finding Common Ground"?

Tommy Mello (Host), Roy Spence (Guest).

What is "American Advertising Legend Roy Spence on Purpose, Profit, and Finding Common Ground" about?

The discussion centers on Roy Spence, a prominent figure in American advertising, who emphasizes the importance of compromise and finding common ground in efforts to unite people around a shared purpose for future generations. He shares insights from his journey co-founding GSDNM, highlighting how passionate and purposeful marketing can not only drive business success but also create positive…

What is mentioned in this Tommy Mello episode?

9 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Roy Spence, GSDNM, Make It movement, I'm an American, Herb Keller, BMW. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "American Advertising Legend Roy Spence on Purpose, Profit, and Finding Common Ground"?

The episode runs 29 min; the transcript is about 5,351 words in 60 timestamped sections.

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