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Lead Balloon Ep. 44 - How a Real Life Ad Agency Inspired the Robin Williams Sitcom, "The Crazy Ones"
Life at Leo Burnett served as a constant source of comedic inspiration for John R. Montgomery and Rob Davis. Every professional...

Dusty Weis
Jul 5, 202332 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 43 - Brands Don't Have the Rizz: Gen Z Slang Is Falling Flat in Marketing
We prove conclusively, WITH SCIENCE, that brands are only hurting themselves when they co-opt youth slang. "How do you do, fellow...

Dusty Weis
Jun 1, 202326 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 42 - OkCupid During the Covid Pandemic: PR Messaging and Online Dating Apps
Social distancing could have been cataclysmic to the world of online dating, but OkCupid chose to embrace it anyway. When the unstoppable...

Dusty Weis
May 2, 202330 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 41 - Deepfakes: How Communicators Must Prepare Now for this Reputation Threat
In recent weeks, deepfake disinformation attacks have exploded, and experts say a new era of strategic communication tactics must arise....

Dusty Weis
Apr 4, 202329 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 40 - In Event of Moon Disaster: The Greatest Speech Never Given
Lost for 30 years in the Nixon archives, today it is hailed as a work of rhetorical and poetic genius. It has been called “The Greatest...

Dusty Weis
Mar 1, 202328 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 39 - Pernicious Copyright Robots: PicRights & the Practice of "CopyRight Trolling"
They're Targeting Your Corporate Blog, Your Company Website and Even Your Social Media, and They Can Level Hefty "Settlement" Payments...

Dusty Weis
Jan 31, 202330 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 38 - The Bud Light CoRntroversy, Revisited: Miller Lite Strikes Back
A classic episode re-mastered, with new insights from the CCO of Molson Coors. Now with 50% new footage! During Super Bowl LIII in 2019,...

Dusty Weis
Dec 21, 202232 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 37 - Blue Angels Ride Along: Becoming the First Podcast to Fly with the Blue Angels
Dusty gets strapped into an F/A-18 Super Hornet to learn how the US Navy does media relations. For the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight...

Dusty Weis
Nov 1, 202234 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 36 - The US Navy Blue Angels: Public Affairs and Marketing at 500 Miles Per Hour
Lead Balloon embeds with the world's most elite, "high-tempo, ready-to-rock-and-roll" public affairs and marketing team. The U.S. Navy...

Dusty Weis
Oct 4, 202237 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 35 - Post-Cold War Trip to Uzbekistan Boosts Fundraising for UJA's Operation Exodus
With Dick Grove and Ron Friedman: Fundraising was a challenge in the wake of the iconic Rabin-Arafat handshake at the White House in...

Dusty Weis
Sep 1, 202222 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 34 - Murder in Boston Blamed on Sega's Virtua Cop Video Game, with Lee Caraher
Did a shooter train for his revenge rampage by playing a hands-on arcade game? A public relations true crime investigation. Also...

Dusty Weis
Aug 2, 202236 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 33 - National Airlines' Saucy "Fly Me" Ad Campaign & the 1970s Stewardess Rebellion
With Nell McShane Wulfhart, Philippa Roberts and Jane Cunningham Sexist advertising that objectifies women reached its heyday in the late...

Dusty Weis
Jul 6, 202226 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 32 - Tesla’s Elon Musk Fires the Entire Public Relations Team—What Could Go Wrong?
How and why Tesla's approach to communication went from unconventional to nonexistent. As the world’s most valuable automotive...
Larry Kilgore III
Jun 2, 202233 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 31 - Snapple: Pitching the Best Catchphrase On Earth
With Jane Cavalier and Richard Kirshenbaum - A world-class slogan crashes and burns, and then an iconic brand burns all its bridges. The...

Dusty Weis
May 3, 202233 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 30 - Inside the PBR "Eating Ass" Tweetstorm, with Adweek Editor David Griner
Plus Special Guest Kyle Brown -- In our first NSFW episode, we try to decide whether social media manager Corey Smale deserved to get...

Dusty Weis
Apr 5, 202234 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 29 - Ukrainian Creatives Waging an Information War Against Russian Invasion
Ad agencies and freelancers across Ukraine have banded together to pierce the veil of Russian propaganda--and they need your help. For...

Dusty Weis
Mar 19, 202220 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 28 - Wendy's Twitter Account Manager Recounts Battle with Social Media Burnout
With Amy Brown and Sallie Poggi -- How Can Social Media Managers "Take a Break From Social Media?" Wendy’s, the burger chain, is infamous...

Dusty Weis
Mar 1, 202238 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 27 - Sherwin-Williams Paints Itself Into a Corner on TikTok, with Tony Piloseno
A Plucky TikTok Superstar Gets Fired for Finding Unexpected Brand Success on Social Media Tony Piloseno really likes paint. And as a...

Dusty Weis
Feb 2, 202230 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 26 - Bigger Than Basketball: The Milwaukee Bucks and the NBA Social Justice Walkout
With Milwaukee Bucks Senior Vice President Alex Lasry and CBS Sports Senior Editor Andrew Julian With a shot at an NBA title on the line,...

Dusty Weis
Nov 3, 202137 min read
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Lead Balloon Ep. 24 - The Dreaded Grand Jury Subpoena, with Duct Tape Marketing Founder John Jantsch
Host of one of the web's longest-running marketing podcasts, John Jantsch shares a cautionary tale from early in his career. There's...

Dusty Weis
Sep 9, 202123 min read
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