Ducks Unplugged

It’s official — by popular demand, Duck Debate is now a monthly thing! Plus, we’re spicing our Mini episodes up with a brand‑new segment: Marketing Hot Takes.

This week, we’re diving into:
🍳 Cracker Barrel's flash-in-the-pan rebrand (pun...see what we did there?)
🍪 Are Crumbl Cookies overrated?
📚 Does listening to an audiobook count as reading?
👍 And the age‑old debate — is a thumb actually a finger?

Spoiler alert: Deanna and Ashley surprisingly agree on most of this one (for once). But what do you think? Join the debate and tell us your takes!

🎧 Listen to Duck Debate (Sort of!): Mini wherever you get your podcasts — and don’t forget to follow for more unfiltered marketing, life, and laughter.

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Can we really have it all? Is work-life balance a real thing—or just a clever marketing ploy?

In this episode of Ducks Unplugged, Ashley and Deanna dig into the messy truth about "balance." From chaotic workdays to scroll-heavy evenings, we’re unpacking why so many of us feel like we’re teetering on the edge... and who’s profiting from that feeling.

💥 We discuss the balance myths we pretend to believe (does "work smarter, not harder" ring a bell?)
📱 We debate the impact of tech, time, and to-do lists
🧘‍♀️ We share what helps us reset—and why it's important to acknowledge that we're all just doing the best we can!

👉 Got your own tips for finding balance? We’d love to hear them. Your strategy might just get a shoutout on an upcoming episode!

🎧 Hit play for some (un)balanced honesty, and a reminder that you’re not alone in the chaos.

Send us your thoughts or questions!

You asked. We answered. 💬

This Ask Us Anything: Mini episode is powered by YOU—our amazing listeners! We opened up the mic to your best questions and topics, and you delivered everything from marketing curveballs to behind‑the‑scenes curiosities about Ducks Unplugged.

💛 Thank you to everyone who submitted questions—we loved diving in. Want to be part of future episodes? Make sure you’re following and subscribed so you never miss your chance to weigh in.

🎧 Hit play now!

Send us your thoughts or questions!

If leadership isn’t one-size-fits-all…how do you know when it fits? In this episode of Ducks Unplugged, Deanna and Ashley ask a big question: What would Ted Lasso do? And unpack what goldfish, mustaches, and great leadership have in common.

💼 From loud visionaries to quiet operators, leadership comes in all shapes. We take a look at the traits that truly matter (integrity, empathy, clarity, resilience) and ask whether great leaders are born or can they be made?

Also featured in this episode:
- Debating the age-old question: Leadership vs. Management—are they really the same?
- Some of our favorite Ted-isms and what they reveal about modern leadership
- And a quick round of Boss or Bust? (you don’t want to miss this game...)

🎧 Whether you’re leading a team, managing a project, or just trying to be a goldfish 🐠—this episode is for you. Listen now!

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Welcome to My, How Things Have Changed: Unplugged! In this episode, Ashley and Deanna take a trip back in time to revisit what marketing was like in a different time — warning, it was a shocking reminder.

We dig into vintage ads that would never fly today, from misogynistic taglines to babies drinking soda and shaving (yes, really), to airlines bragging about rejecting female stewardesses who don't fit their "standards”

Some of it is shocking, some hilarious in hindsight (we laugh so we don't cry), and all of it shows just how far marketing—and society—has come. With the caveat, we still have a long way to go. 

🎧 Tune in for a mix of cringe, commentary, and perspective as we unpack the ads of yesterday through today’s lens.

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Welcome to Main Character Energy: Mini! Ashley and Deanna are joined by our favorite recurring guest, Erin Campbell, to unpack what’s giving off major main character energy right now.

Each of us brought a few picks (okay, Deanna brought several 🙃), and we put them to the test. From pickleball to WNBA mascots to TikTok creators to… polka dots, we cover it all. Some examples hit, some miss—and plenty spark discussion. You may even learn something—is it DUPA or DUPR score? 

🎧 Tune in for a mini episode full of laughs, random hot takes, and a little pop culture therapy. Do you agree with our picks, or are we totally out of touch?

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Welcome to Marketing Confessions: Unplugged! Mistakes happen in marketing—it’s inevitable. The key is catching them before they spiral… but let’s be honest, sometimes they make it all the way out into the world.

In this episode, we dig into the fine line between empowering your team to act independently and accepting that sometimes, mistakes slip through. We share some wild marketing fails we found online—and then we turn the spotlight on ourselves. From typos that went to print, to public meeting mishaps, to cringe-worthy moments we still can’t believe happened, we spill our own confessions.

🎧 Tune in for a mix of laughs, lessons, and a reminder that every mistake is a step toward becoming better at what we do.

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Welcome to Duck Debate: Part 2! Ashley and Deanna are back at it—taking on the questions no one asked us to answer but everyone has an opinion about.

From whether parallel parking is a critical life skill, to if cruises count as real vacations, to the very divisive Taylor Swift debate, and even whether sharing a toothbrush is okay (spoiler: a gross story is shared), we battle it out.

🎧 Take a listen, pick a side, and let us know—where do you land in the great duck debate?

Send us your thoughts or questions!

Welcome to Mythbusters: Unplugged! We’ve all heard the agency rumors: bigger agencies mean bigger results, agencies only care about creative, and in-house teams can do it all. But are those really true—or just myths that need busting?

In this episode, we’re pulling no punches and tackling the misconceptions we hear all the time. Then, we turn the tables and debate some of life’s juiciest non-agency myths—from aliens building the pyramids to whether sharks get cancer (spoiler: you’ll want to hear this one).

🎧 Tune in for a mix of marketing truths, mystery debates, and a surprise twist where we even turn Bigfoot into a campaign idea. Because only at Ducks Unplugged could myth busting turn into marketing magic.

Send us your thoughts or questions!

How do you sell the same product to totally different generations?

We’re putting our sales caps on and turning this episode into a real-life round of Shark Tank, as Deanna and Ashley go head-to-head with audience-tailored pitches. Five product categories. Four different generations. One wild ride.

⚡ Electric toothbrushes for Gen Z?
🛌 Why Gen X shouldn’t “sleep” on the luxury mattress industry (see what we did there?)

🎧 Hit play and decide—who pitched it best?

Send us your thoughts or questions!