Lead Balloon - Marketing, Public Relations and Strategic Communications Stories

Lead Balloon - Marketing, Public Relations and Strategic Communications Stories

Compelling 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 sometimes, there are important lessons to be learned from someone else's worst day. And sometimes, it's just more convenient than group therapy. Lead Balloon is an award-winning program, named by Adweek as "Marketing Podcast of the Year," nominated for a Webby award and nominated twice for "Best Business Podcast" in the Podcast Academy awards. Tune in monthly for new episodes. Visit podcampmedia.com/leadballoon to learn more.

Episodes

72. Bald as a Brand: What is Baldmaxxing and Why Should Marketers Pay Attention? w/ Harry James and Brennan Johnson

August 25, 2026 • 41 mins
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 synonymous with desirability and success. And marketers have hocked products to prevent, hide or "cure" baldness—but never to embrace it. However, a new online trend—"Baldmaxxing"—is changing the narrative around hair loss, and openin...
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71. America's Brand: Reclaiming Patriotism for Regular Americans, with Joe Trahan (APR Fellow PRSA)

July 29, 2026 • 36 mins
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 warriors have attempted to unilaterally define what it means to be American, and they paint anyone who disagrees as unpatriotic. So how did one extremist ideology corner the market on branding American patriotism? Why is it imperative for regular Americans to...
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70. How to Go Viral and Not Screw Up Your Kid's Life, with the Original "Hysterical Bubbles" Laughing Baby (All Grown Up)

June 30, 2026 • 39 mins
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 Girlfriend” (Laina Morris), many viral stars of the early internet did not intend to become memes. And the unintended attention and even bullying that accompany online celebrity can have a profound—even damaging—impact on a kid&...
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69. How the Snapple Brand Won Our Hearts in the 90s, Then Lost Them

May 28, 2026 • 46 mins
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 served up again and again in the brands and marketing ecosystem. But it never seems to sink in. So in this episode, we'll pop the top on a Snapple double feature. First, Jane Cavalier tells us about pitching Snapple's iconic slogan, "Made From the Bes...
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68. Seth Rogen Film, The Interview, Sparks a North Korean Hack Attack and a Hollywood PR Debacle for Sony Pictures' CEO

April 29, 2026 • 43 mins
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 Franco, and Randall Park as a parodied version of North Korea’s Supreme Leader, Kim Jong-Un, the film features a slapstick plotline where a couple of bumbling journalists are recruited by the CIA to assassinate the reclusive dictator. ...
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67. Coca-Cola's Master's Tournament Sponsorship Triggers 2002 Boycott Threat, with Ben Deutsch and Dr. Martha Burk

March 31, 2026 • 33 mins
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 membership policy came under the microscope in an unexpected and sensational showdown between women's rights activists and the club's defiant adherence to "tradition." The tale of how the conflict came to a head is an unlikely Public Relations parable in its...
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66. Cracks in the ICE: Legal Observers in Minneapolis Use the First Amendment to Swing Public Opinion About Immigration Crackdown

February 24, 2026 • 37 mins
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 policies. And the primary reason it’s happening is not a brilliant PR campaign, Pulitzer-winning journalism, or organized political strategy. It’s because of regular folks with camera phones documenting what’s actually happening on the...
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65. Delicious Redemption: Getting Fired for an Infamous PBR Tweet Made Corey Smale the CCO at Garage Beer

January 27, 2026 • 43 mins
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 the guy who did it. Because Corey Smale—who was promptly fired for the Tweet and owned it publicly—isn't just PBR's ex-social media manager. He's now been named Ad Age's "Marketer of the Year" for his current work as Chief Creative Officer ...
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64. The Wikipedia Prank: Why the Internet Mistakenly Thought the Movie Good Luck Chuck was Based on Ben Kollenbroich

October 22, 2025 • 35 mins
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 romantic comedy starring Dane Cook and Jessica Alba. That’s not REMOTELY true, however. In fact, Ben Kollenbroich was just a regular 25-year-old guy in 2010. There certainly weren't any movies based on his life. And it wasn't ...
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63. A.I. Podcast Host Invasion: Inception Point's Business Model & the Podcast Industry's Reaction

September 24, 2025 • 50 mins
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 Point A.I. claims to be able to fashion 3,000 podcast episodes a week at a paltry cost of $1 per episode, and plans to flood the market with massive amounts of content in the hopes of generating revenue through programmatic advertising. But the reaction t...
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62. Modernizing the Way We Communicate About Road Closures (Especially During Emergencies), with Scott Oppman from ArcGIS

August 20, 2025 • 28 mins
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 agencies put out a press release. And this disconnect is not only annoying—it can be a public safety hazard. So after the recent catastrophic flooding in his Southeast Wisconsin community, Dusty wants to start a conversation about how public offici...
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61. Will Wikipedia survive Artificial Intelligence? (And Can A.I. Survive Without Wikipedia?)

July 30, 2025 • 46 mins
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 integral tool for understanding the world in which we live. But artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT could threaten Wikipedia's viability over the next 25 years. And in fact, by diverting fundraising traffic, undermining traditional journalism, and thi...
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60. Recession Lessons from Content Marketing Institute Founder Joe Pulizzi: Double Down, Dig In

June 25, 2025 • 35 mins
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 these factors have created an atmosphere of business uncertainty. Marketing jobs and budgets face the specter of the chopping block once again, and many are taking a "batten down the hatches" approach. But at a time like this, it's important to remember: w...
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59. Bot Farms Have Made Social Media Engagement Metrics Meaningless, with Eric Schwartzman

May 28, 2025 • 33 mins
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 engagement metrics as an exception to that rule—critical quantitative data that can't be faked and can be leveraged to demonstrate the value of a campaign or piece of content. Except in 2025, it's just not reliable any more. That is because sophis...
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58. The Mystery of the I-94 Sales & Marketing Tip of the Week Billboard, with Ken Hoffman & Kyle Brown

April 29, 2025 • 33 mins
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 invites thousands of motorists daily to call a mysterious phone number. And that has been driving Dusty CRAZY because, frankly, nothing about this billboard makes any sense in 2025. So we're going to SOLVE A MARKETING MYSTERY, folks! Together with...
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57. Why Have Streaming Services Put So Many Ads In Our Shows? with Film Critic Matt Zoller Seitz

March 26, 2025 • 34 mins
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 times over? Almost every major streaming service has recently begun inserting advertising into its programming. And it's NOT your imagination... the ads really are more disruptive and obnoxious than traditional television commercials. So what's d...
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56. What Happens at American Airlines After a Plane Crash: Behind the Scenes with Former Spokeswoman Jennifer R. Hudson

February 19, 2025 • 37 mins
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. Flight 965 had disappeared in the mountains of Colombia, and Jennifer needed to report to the scene of the crash to coordinate the company's public relations response. Unnerved and uncertain, she had to push aside her doubts and power through what would becom...
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55. Liquid Death Spoofs the Pepsi Harrier Jet Giveaway, with Andy Pearson & Jeff Beer

January 22, 2025 • 40 mins
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 they saved up 7 million Pepsi Points, they could win a Harrier fighter jet. However, no one at Pepsi or their ad agency ever expected anyone to try to claim that prize. And when Washington business school student John Leonard did, they faced a multi-year le...
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54. The Election of the Podcast? 2024 Presidential Campaign PR Focuses on Podcasts & Social Media

December 18, 2024 • 34 mins
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 standard by which PR agencies are judged. But as we march further into this age of new media, those public opinion gatekeepers in the traditional media are losing their dominance of the American attention span. And as evidenced by this year's presidential campai...
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53. Alex Jones’s Infowars Being Purchased by the Onion and Sandy Hook Families, with Onion CMO Leila Brillson

November 26, 2024 • 29 mins
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 will not cross. For his own, personal benefit, he has victimized the grieving parents of children who were killed in school shootings. He has deliberately stoked fear among his followers in order to sell them snake oil. He has promoted insane conspiracy...
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