Lead Balloon - Marketing, Public Relations and Strategic Communications Stories
Dusty Weis
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Dusty Weis
▶ WebplayerCompelling tales from the world of public relations, marketing and branding, told by the well-meaning communications professionals who lived them. Lead Balloon is like Freakonomics for communicators and media consumers. It's a show where we tell stories from communications industry leaders, brands that everyone knows and loves (or hates), and spectacular PR disasters. With immersive storytelling and a wry sense of humor, host Dusty Weis (nominated for "Best Indie Podcast Host" at the 2026 Podcast Academy awards) revisits epic PR disasters, intense communications scenarios, professional inflection points and notable campaigns we all remember, and usually finds a reason to chuckle. Because...
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Sep 29, 2026 · 50:26
As they promote their new AI technologies, executives at tech startups have said some outlandish things. Making bold claims gets headlines. It secures meetings. It closes funding…
Aug 25, 2026 · 41:32
For decades, baldness has been seen as undesirable—for men AND women. Traditional and social media both have reinforced the message that a thick, luscious head of hair is…
Jul 29, 2026 · 36:35
Every nation on the planet is its own brand. And love of country plays a part in each one. But here in the U.S., the very notion of patriotism has been polarized. Culture…
Jun 30, 2026 · 39:18
The annals of internet history are littered with cautionary tales from young people who became internet famous. From “Star Wars Kid” (Ghyslain Raza) to “Overly Attached…
May 28, 2026 · 46:59
The strategy at the heart of the Snapple brand's precipitous rise... and its cataclysmic fall... is simple. "Embrace your roots. Celebrate authenticity." It's a lesson that's…
Apr 29, 2026 · 43:50
In 2014, Sony Pictures Entertainment sparked an international diplomatic crisis when it announced its latest comedy, which they called “The Interview.” Starring Seth Rogen, James…
Mar 31, 2026 · 33:36
Home to the Masters Tournament, the Augusta National Golf Club typically serves as a backdrop for sports drama. But in 2002, the club itself became the story, as its men-only…
Feb 24, 2026 · 37:27
Since the government shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, something has changed in the national conversation about the Trump Administration’s immigration…
Jan 27, 2026 · 43:17
It was four years ago that the Twitter account for legendary beer brand Pabst Blue Ribbon tweeted out: "Not drinking this January? Try eating ass!" And we're FINALLY talking to…
Oct 22, 2025 · 35:15
15 years ago, if you had googled Ben Kollenbroich’s name, you would have discovered that his life story was the inspiration for “Good Luck Chuck,” a mid-budget, critically-panned…
Sep 24, 2025 · 50:42
Earlier this month, a new startup announced that they would be using artificial intelligence to churn out thousands of podcast episodes voiced by A.I. podcast hosts. Inception…
Aug 20, 2025 · 28:38
Most people get travel information about road closures from Google Maps, Apple Maps or a similar smartphone-based application. But when a road is closed, most transportation…
Jul 30, 2025 · 46:12
Wikipedia readers consume nearly one billion articles per day from the online encyclopedia. In its 25 years of operation, this compendium of human knowledge has become an…
Jun 25, 2025 · 35:03
In the world of business, yet again, things looks grim. A brewing trade war, the uncharted fallout of artificial intelligence, and political upheaval around the world... All…
May 28, 2025 · 33:14
What you see online is not real. This has long been a reliable axiom for information consumption on the internet. But social media and SEO marketers have long relied on their…
Apr 29, 2025 · 33:33
There is a weird, enigmatic old billboard along the interstate in Wisconsin promoting a "Sales & Marketing Tip of the Week." Without any branding or context, this weathered sign…
Mar 26, 2025 · 34:34
After more than a decade of living in an entertainment golden age... Filled with more and better options, with less advertising, than ever before in human history... Are the good…
Feb 19, 2025 · 37:22
Three weeks after accepting a new role as an American Airlines spokeswoman in 1995, Jennifer R. Hudson was paged out of bed in the middle of the night. The worst had happened.…
Jan 22, 2025 · 40:00
At the height of the Cola Wars in the mid-90's, Pepsi committed one of the most notorious PR and marketing fiascos of all-time. An eye-catching spot promised brand fans that, if…
Dec 18, 2024 · 34:14
Earned media has long been the holy grail of public relations. For decades, getting your client's message in the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal has been the gold…
Nov 26, 2024 · 29:44
Alex Jones, founder of the extremist conspiracy-theory-peddling digital brand Infowars, has proved again and again that there is no lie he will not embrace and no moral line he…
Nov 1, 2024 · 44:19
The videos and stories we’ve seen and heard from Hurricanes Helene and Milton over the last month have been truly horrific. They're an important reminder that the rescue and…
Oct 2, 2024 · 47:19
The image of 1988 Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis riding in a tank has become synonymous with abject public relations failure. For marketers and PR…
Jan 17, 2024 · 15:18
Sociolinguist Dr. Valerie Fridland says we need to relax about the changing nature of language. In her book, "Like, Literally Dude: Arguing for the Good in Bad English," she…
Dec 27, 2023 · 51:06
When you're working with high-profile people in fields like PR, marketing and branding, things are always changing. History gets uncovered. New information comes to light that…
Nov 29, 2023 · 46:54
At the end of his first week working in public relations, Lead Balloon host Dusty Weis did something so dumb, he could have been fired on the spot. During a meeting with one of…
Nov 1, 2023 · 45:17
UFOs have traditionally been more of a pop culture phenomenon than an actual science. But with the recent declassification of Navy gun camera footage that shows unexplained craft…
Oct 3, 2023 · 30:35
Let's be honest: political groups don't have a great success rate when it comes to their strategic communication tactics. Every election cycle, American voters are bombarded with…
Sep 6, 2023 · 41:27
On January 18, 2018, the entire State of Hawaii received an ear piercing alert on their cell phones. "BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS…
Aug 1, 2023 · 35:44
The robot revolution has arrived. And they're coming for your marketing or content creation job. The advent of generative artificial intelligence chatbots—most notably tools like…
Jul 5, 2023 · 48:47
Every professional communicator has had a day that seems like it came straight out of a TV sitcom. For Rob Davis and John R. Montgomery, working at the Chicago ad firm Leo…
Jun 1, 2023 · 40:23
"How do you do, fellow marketers? We think it would be pretty 'on fleek' if you would stop trying to use slang terms to make yourself more relatable to young people." Certainly,…
May 11, 2023 · 28:52
Communicating during and about the Covid-19 pandemic is a topic we've discussed several times on this show, including in our most recent episode. And, as of today, May 11, 2023,…
May 2, 2023 · 49:54
When the unstoppable force of online dating met the immovable object of global pandemic social distancing, there was no road map for what would come next. Michael Kaye is the…
Apr 4, 2023 · 47:56
It is now only a matter of time until someone attacks your reputation with a deepfake, according to the experts. So-called deepfake technology, which can synthesize audio and…
Mar 1, 2023 · 47:58
It has been called “The Greatest Speech Never Given.” Drafted as a contingency plan for President Richard Nixon on the occasion of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the memo entitled…
Feb 1, 2023 · 46:10
There’s a disturbing new trend making waves in the world of online content creation. Corporate blogs, mom-and-pop business websites, podcasts… Even stuff that you posted years…
Dec 21, 2022 · 48:52
Now with 50% new footage! During Super Bowl LIII in 2019, Bud Light launched a new advertising strategy that was... unconventional, even for them. Instead of frogs or "wazzap"…
Dec 15, 2022 · 24:28
It's been a busy year here at Podcamp Media. So busy, in fact, that we almost forgot to recognize a pretty significant milestone in Dusty's career. 20 years ago, Dusty got his…
Nov 1, 2022 · 47:57
For the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron, media relations is not a job that just happens on the ground. Each year, dozens of media reps, influencers and VIPs…
Oct 4, 2022 · 51:04
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron is not only the world’s most well-known group of elite performing aviators. It’s also—and people forget this—a group of…
Sep 1, 2022 · 35:16
In 1993, the world watched as two bitter rivals shook hands on the South Lawn of the White House, presenting the best hope for peace in the Middle East seen in centuries of…
Aug 8, 2022 · 1:31
Adweek's 2020 "Marketing Podcast of the Year." Webby Award-nominated. Profiled on Forbes.com. On Lead Balloon, professional communicators share tales of the do-or-die situations…
Aug 2, 2022 · 57:22
On a busy evening in Boston's financial district in 1995, gunshots ring out. When the smoke clears, a prominent divorce attorney is dead and a police officer is wounded. And Lee…
Jul 6, 2022 · 39:50
Sexist advertising that objectifies women reached its heyday in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But, in that era, it was very seldom that any company actually faced backlash or…
Jun 2, 2022 · 51:26
As the world’s most valuable automotive manufacturer, electric car giant Tesla is the largest company in the world that operates without any kind of public relations personnel.…
May 3, 2022 · 52:10
The strategy at the heart of the Snapple brand's precipitous rise... and its cataclysmic fall... is simple: Embrace your roots. Celebrate authenticity. It's a lesson that's been…
Apr 5, 2022 · 47:03
On January 3, Pabst Blue Ribbon lit the internet on fire with one obscene tweet: “Not drinking this January? Try eating ass.” The uproar was swift and loud. And PBR deleted the…
Mar 19, 2022 · 40:59
For Ukrainian ad agencies and freelance creatives, "business-as-usual" stopped on the day that Russian forces launched their unprovoked war three weeks ago. Now, they need your…
Mar 1, 2022 · 51:50
Wendy’s, the burger chain, is infamous for its punchy, no-holds-barred Twitter account. And social media manager Amy Brown was the creative instigator of that success. Many…
Feb 2, 2022 · 46:31
Tony Piloseno really likes paint. And as a junior studying marketing at Ohio University, he channeled his passion for a part-time job at a Sherwin-Williams paint store into a…
Nov 10, 2021 · 16:18
This month on the show, we talked to Alex Lasry, the Senior Vice President of the Milwaukee Bucks, about the team’s dramatic stand for social justice last year during the NBA…
Nov 3, 2021 · 56:56
With a shot at an NBA title on the line, an entire basketball team refuses to take the court. They won’t even come out of the locker room. It’s a sports marketing nightmare. And…
Sep 8, 2021 · 34:07
There's nothing easy about striking out on your own as an independent marketing consultant. Work can be scarce and hard to come by, and when an opportunity does come along, there…
Aug 4, 2021 · 44:33
The George Washington Bridge between Manhattan and New Jersey is the world’s busiest motor vehicle crossing, carrying more than 103 million vehicles a year over the Hudson River.…
Jul 22, 2021 · 9:17
At Podcamp Media, we are *proudly* based in Milwaukee and Wisconsin. Founder Dusty Weis explains why in this column he wrote for our friends at OnMilwaukee.com. (Music by Ghost…
Jul 1, 2021 · 42:25
Henry DeVries had to choose: a big fat raise and a promotion, or maintain his integrity. The year was 1996, and Henry was the Vice President of Public Relations at Foresters…
Jun 1, 2021 · 44:38
When Justin Shriber was the Vice President of Marketing for LinkedIn Sales and Marketing Solutions, he was charged with emceeing the social media juggernaut's Sales Leaders…
May 4, 2021 · 48:41
Three weeks after accepting a new role as an American Airlines spokeswoman in 1995, Jennifer R. Hudson was paged out of bed in the middle of the night. The worst had happened.…
Apr 1, 2021 · 58:50
Home to the Masters Tournament, the Augusta National Golf Club typically serves as a backdrop for sports drama. But in 2002, the club itself became the story, as its men-only…
Mar 2, 2021 · 46:08
Before he went on to become Coca-Cola's global vice president of corporate communication, Ben Deutsch was plucked from his dream job in Coke's Sports PR section and dropped into…
Feb 2, 2021 · 45:33
What constitutes "politics" in America has crept into new, ugly territory. And with the deadly Capitol insurrection on January 6, it finally became impossible for businesses to…
Jan 21, 2021 · 1:07:05
With Covid-19 vaccination efforts finally getting underway, communicating properly about this process is critical to saving lives and re-opening the economy. That responsibility…
Jan 5, 2021 · 43:45
In public relations, "going rogue" is a notion that sets teeth on edge for most PR practitioners. But sometimes, when the conventional approach fails, the only way forward is to…
Oct 27, 2020 · 7:10
We've just received some incredible news here at Podcamp Media world headquarters in Milwaukee. Lead Balloon is Adweek's 2020 "Marketing Podcast of the Year," and Dusty is "just…
Oct 1, 2020 · 51:35
Right or wrong, there are some products that most PR and marketing professionals want nothing to do with. The Squatty Potty, a plastic platform that purports to alleviate…
Sep 2, 2020 · 47:07
Not everyone in marketing set out from Day One to become a marketer. And for outside creatives transitioning into the corporate world, there are tough lessons to master,…
Aug 5, 2020 · 48:10
With great marketing tools comes great responsibility--and marketing automation, email marketing and customer relationship management are no exception. Use them correctly, and…
Jul 1, 2020 · 1:15:17
In the corporate world, unspoken rules about what constitutes appropriate workplace conversation provide white employees with a safe, comfortable space free from discussion about…
Jun 2, 2020 · 29:57
The Hail Mary: a last-chance, desperation plan with a high risk of failure, turned to as a last resort when all other options have failed. It's not just a football play; it's a…
May 1, 2020 · 50:28
There's no need to sugarcoat it: things looks grim. The COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic has exacted a brutal price in lives, public health and global economic activity, and there's…
Apr 6, 2020 · 1:20:16
Communicating with the public during a crisis is as critical as it is difficult. And if it's seemed to you like President Donald Trump has been hitting many of the wrong notes…
Mar 25, 2020 · 44:51
Everybody remembers the McDonald's Monopoly sweepstakes. But until HBO's McMillion$ came out, most folks didn't realize that the reason it suddenly vanished in 2001 was because…
Mar 2, 2020 · 39:37
It might be tough to imagine these days, but public relations work still got done in the era before cell phones and broadband. Somehow. But like the show Seinfeld, one of the…
Feb 3, 2020 · 39:37
Patrick McSweeney is a cliché warrior. If it's a hackneyed, over-worn marketing and PR trope, he’s gone to battle against it. But when you choose creativity and innovation over…
Jan 1, 2020 · 43:54
During Super Bowl LIII in 2019, Bud Light launched a new advertising strategy that was... unconventional, even for them. HEADS UP: We remastered this episode, adding new…
Jan 1, 2020 · 46:31
At the end of his first week working in public relations, Dusty Weis did something so dumb, he could have been fired on the spot. During a meeting with one of his new bosses,…
Jan 1, 2020 · 37:18
It was supposed to be a historic day at Madame Tussauds wax museum in San Francisco. The storied attraction was launching, not only the first animatronic exhibit in franchise…
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