Soul & Science : #88: Why Purpose Still Matters | Bill Oberlander, Founder & Creative Chairman at OBERLAND
SHOW NOTES
Why does doing good still feel risky in the boardroom even when it’s good for business?
In this episode, OBERLAND Founder & Creative Chairman Bill Oberlander joins Jason Harris to explore the Soul & Science of purpose-driven marketing and talk about why creativity, commerce, and consciousness can (and should) coexist.
Bill shares his journey from Madison Avenue to launching a values-first agency that's now AdAge’s Purpose-Led Agency of the Year. He opens up about building OBERLAND from scratch, pitching campaigns like ELF’s So Many Dicks, and why he believes hustle, resilience, and unrelenting honesty are the keys to making good money, by doing good.
What’s Inside:
✅ Why a purpose-driven brief matters more than a purpose-driven agency
✅ How “creativity, commerce, and consciousness” intersect in great marketing
✅The origin stories behind some of OBERLAND’s boldest work, from pitching Thinx to launching ELF’s viral “So Many Dicks” campaign
✅ Why brands that ignore social impact are missing their next generation of consumers
Memorable Moments:
💡 “You don’t need a purpose-driven agency to do purpose-driven work. You just need a purpose-driven brief.”
💡 “The best new business department is just better creative.”
💡 “Make good money. That’s the line.”
Brought to you by Mekanism.
In this episode, OBERLAND Founder & Creative Chairman Bill Oberlander joins Jason Harris to explore the Soul & Science of purpose-driven marketing and talk about why creativity, commerce, and consciousness can (and should) coexist.
Bill shares his journey from Madison Avenue to launching a values-first agency that's now AdAge’s Purpose-Led Agency of the Year. He opens up about building OBERLAND from scratch, pitching campaigns like ELF’s So Many Dicks, and why he believes hustle, resilience, and unrelenting honesty are the keys to making good money, by doing good.
What’s Inside:
✅ Why a purpose-driven brief matters more than a purpose-driven agency
✅ How “creativity, commerce, and consciousness” intersect in great marketing
✅The origin stories behind some of OBERLAND’s boldest work, from pitching Thinx to launching ELF’s viral “So Many Dicks” campaign
✅ Why brands that ignore social impact are missing their next generation of consumers
Memorable Moments:
💡 “You don’t need a purpose-driven agency to do purpose-driven work. You just need a purpose-driven brief.”
💡 “The best new business department is just better creative.”
💡 “Make good money. That’s the line.”
Brought to you by Mekanism.
Soul & Science
Does marketing live in the heart, or in the head? Should you trust your instinct, or your integers? If the answer is both, should you lead with one more than the other? As a creative agency, Mekanism has been asking these questions of ourselves and our clients for over 10 years. Join co-founder and CEO of award-winning creative agency Mekanism, Jason Harris, on his quest to answer these questions with the world’s leading marketers from the brands we’ve all come to love. Named CEO of the Year by The Drum Magazine, Jason will draw from his experience during these easily digestible 20-minute episodes to explore the Soul of these famous brands and the Science of staying relevant, exploring how they’ve become culture defining emblems in our modern world.
Brought to you by Mekanism
Brought to you by Mekanism
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