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Dusty Weis
1 day ago27 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 55 - Liquid Death Spoofs the Pepsi Harrier Jet Giveaway, with Andy Pearson & Jeff Beer
Pepsi's blunder is an all-timer, but Liquid Death stuck the landing. At the height of the Cola Wars in the mid-90's, Pepsi committed one...
3 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Dec 18, 202424 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 54 - The Election of the Podcast? 2024 Presidential Campaign PR Focuses on Podcasts & Social Media
With Colab founders Ashley Mann and Lizzy Harris Earned media has long been the holy grail of public relations. For decades, getting your...
12 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Nov 26, 202418 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 53 - Alex Jones’s Infowars Being Purchased by the Onion and Sandy Hook Families, with Onion CMO Leila Brillson
A corporate takeover, karmic justice, and comedy art—all at once. Alex Jones, founder of the extremist conspiracy-theory-peddling digital...
38 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Oct 31, 202431 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 52 - FEMA Public Affairs Team Still Carries Scars from Hurricane Ike Assignment, with Molly McPherson & Mike Moore
A FEMA public affairs unit puts itself in harm's way after a deadly storm, and the experience leaves a lasting impact on both of our...
116 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Oct 1, 202429 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 51 - The Legend of Dukakis in a Tank: White House Comms Pros Talk Presidential Optics
Exploring the most disastrous photo op in history with a staffer from Team Dukakis '88 and his Republican counterpart.
773 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Dec 27, 202331 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 50 - Grumpy Cat's Manager, Squatty Potty, the Sound of Freedom, Homestead, Watergate & More Updates
Some eye-opening updates on old episodes with two old pals who dropped in for our 50th episode. When you're working with high-profile...
37 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Nov 29, 202328 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 49 - How I Almost Got Fired in My 1st Week in PR: Important Life Lessons Learned
As a young PR hot shot, Dusty stupidly insults his new boss. Seven years later, they revisit the faux pas. At the end of his first week...
20 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Nov 1, 202331 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 48 - A UAP PR Campaign: Mainstreaming the UAP Conversation, with Lt. Ryan Graves
He's not asking you to believe in little green men. But he is insisting we take this national security threat seriously. UFOs have...
32 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Oct 3, 202320 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 47 - NextGen America Slides into DMs on the Dating App Hinge, with Kristi Johnston
Get-out-the-vote organizers mix dating with politics in an innovative, eyebrow-raising new tactic. Let's be honest: political groups...
16 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Sep 6, 202325 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 46 - Why Are Wireless Emergency Alerts on Your Phone So Terrible?
A ballistic missile false alarm in Hawaii prompts us to take a closer look at a perennially misused public safety tool. On January 18,...
216 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Aug 1, 202323 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 45 - Replaced by Chat GPT: Are Creative and Copywriting Jobs Threatened by A.I.?
We meet one of the "first wave" of workers laid off in the Artificial Intelligence revolution, and look ahead to the future of creative...
305 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Jul 5, 202332 min read
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...
65 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Jun 1, 202326 min read
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...
78 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
May 2, 202330 min read
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...
21 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Apr 4, 202329 min read
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....
94 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Mar 1, 202328 min read
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...
327 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Jan 31, 202330 min read
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...
1,331 views2 comments
Dusty Weis
Dec 21, 202232 min read
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,...
101 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Nov 1, 202234 min read
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...
98 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Oct 4, 202237 min read
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...
232 views0 comments
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