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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
104 views
0 comments


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
101 views
0 comments


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
236 views
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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
88 views
0 comments


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
110 views
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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
1,548 views
0 comments


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
306 views
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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
190 views
0 comments


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
203 views
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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
98 views
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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
2,876 views
0 comments


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
461 views
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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
110 views
0 comments


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
20 views
0 comments


Lead Balloon Ep. 23 - Bridgegate: Behind the Scenes at the Port Authority During the Scandal
With Anthony Hayes -- Known as the scandal that ended Governor Chris Christie's presidential ambitions, we look back at Bridgegate from a...

Dusty Weis
Aug 7, 202129 min read
33 views
0 comments


Lead Balloon Ep. 22 - Scandal at Foresters Financial, with former VP of PR Henry DeVries
As spokesman for the company, Henry DeVries's moral fiber is tested when he's dragged into a torrid affair between two Foresters...

Dusty Weis
Jul 1, 202125 min read
248 views
0 comments


Lead Balloon Ep. 21 - Hip-Hop Mogul Russell Simmons Hijacks the Mainstage at LinkedIn's Sales Summit
When the co-founder of Def Jam Records goes off in front of a live audience, LinkedIn emcee Justin Shriber tries to save face. When...

Dusty Weis
Jun 1, 202128 min read
108 views
0 comments


Lead Balloon Ep. 19 - Coca-Cola and the Masters Tournament, with Ben Deutsch and Dr. Martha Burk
When women's rights activists take aim at a last-bastion boy's club, Coke has to navigate a Public Relations lose-lose. Home to the...

Dusty Weis
Apr 1, 202134 min read
468 views
0 comments


Lead Balloon Ep. 18 - Coca-Cola's Retired Comms VP on the '98 World Cup, Belgium Health Scare & More
Former Communications Executive Ben Deutsch illustrates why overseeing communications for one of the world's largest corporations is not...

Dusty Weis
Mar 2, 202128 min read
216 views
0 comments


Lead Balloon Ep. 17 - The Lincoln Project’s Rick Wilson: Insurrection, Business Comms & Politics
January 6 was a dark day for America, with lasting ramifications for how businesses talk about politics and Trumpism. What constitutes...

Dusty Weis
Feb 2, 202129 min read
93 views
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