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Dusty Weis
Sep 1, 202222 min read
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...
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Dusty Weis
Aug 2, 202236 min read
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...
105 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Jul 6, 202226 min read
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...
1,505 views0 comments
Larry Kilgore III
Jun 2, 202233 min read
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...
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Dusty Weis
May 3, 202233 min read
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...
172 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Apr 5, 202234 min read
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...
179 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Mar 19, 202220 min read
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...
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Dusty Weis
Mar 1, 202238 min read
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...
2,666 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Feb 2, 202230 min read
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...
455 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Nov 3, 202137 min read
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,...
108 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Sep 9, 202123 min read
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...
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Dusty Weis
Aug 7, 202129 min read
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...
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Dusty Weis
Jul 1, 202125 min read
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...
237 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Jun 1, 202128 min read
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...
108 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
May 4, 202129 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 20 - Plane Crash in Colombia: American Airlines Flight 965, with Jennifer R. Hudson
Three weeks into her role as an American Airlines spokeswoman, Jennifer Hudson is called to Colombia following an air disaster that...
527 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Apr 1, 202134 min read
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...
462 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Mar 2, 202128 min read
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...
214 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Feb 2, 202129 min read
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...
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Dusty Weis
Jan 21, 202142 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 16 - Vaccine Messaging: How Comms Professionals Can Help Save the World from Covid
With former HHS Spokesman Bill Pierce and Dr. Maria Sundaram With Covid-19 vaccination efforts finally getting underway, communicating...
87 views0 comments
Dusty Weis
Jan 5, 202125 min read
Lead Balloon Ep. 15 - Going Rogue, Battling Bears, Government Shutdowns and National Parks
With Julie Wright, Diane Lebow and Laura Kiniry In public relations, "going rogue" is a notion that sets teeth on edge for most PR...
149 views1 comment
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