dog and pony show
idiom

- an elaborately staged activity, performance, presentation, or event designed to convince people

(The Urban Dictionary)

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The expression "dog and pony show" derives from small travelling circus troupes that stopped off at small towns and rural areas in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These circuses operated with little money and frequently featured dogs and ponies performing tricks. The tradition of the small travelling circus still exists in some European countries.

Figuratively, a dog and pony show implies (usually in a negative sense) something that is more show than substance, such as a flashy Power Point presentation with cool graphics, animations, and effects meant to dazzle the audience or meeting participants. Afterwards, if people doubt whether they learned anything new from the presentation, then that's a sign that it was just a dog and pony show.

The financial site Investopedia describes the dog and pony show in a less negative light, citing its benefits when trying to attract investors: "While the term dog and pony show has a negative connotation, it fulfils an important function in the capital markets.

Known instead by the more respectable term "road show," these presentations often give brokers, analysts, fund managers and investors an opportunity to meet a stock issuer's top management and to assess their capabilities firsthand.

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Practice OWAD in a conversation:

"The seminar was more A DOG AND PONY SHOW than a management training."