Last night I had the pleasure of hearing one of the advertising industry's top creatives speak here in Atlanta, none other than the illustrious Alex Bogusky of Crispin Porter + Bogusky. (For those of you who may not know, CP+B is responsible for some of the most ground-breaking campaigns run in the last 10 years—Burger King, Mini Cooper, Volkswagen, truth, Sprite, Coke Zero, and more.) Somewhat appropriately, the event was held at the Variety Playhouse, a local music venue. The whole thing had a bit of an air about it that we were all about to see an advertising rockstar.
The great part of the evening was hearing about the atmosphere at CP+B and how they've achieved what they have. It was particularly interesting to hear this all from the man himself since the agency has taken quite a beating rep-wise over the last few years.
While being both an engaging and somewhat elusive speaker, Alex had a few gems that were really worth the price of admission (which was a lot, trust me). I didn't find anything he said particularly earth-shattering, but it really gave insight into how CP+B has produced some of the most talked about work over the last decade.
He mentioned that instead of planners, the agency has begun to hire more anthropologists and sociologists. Rather than track trends and listen to consumers, these advisers provide much more deep-cutting information. For example, he said that he could sit and listen to a sociologist speak for two hours on the meaning of fire or of meat in our society (helpful on a burger joint account). These are truths that are deep-rooted in our psyche and will never change (or only change over centuries or millennia). They tap into a similarities that we all share. I think that this speaks to the idea of "human truths" that we all strive for in our work, but on a far more intrinsic level of our human nature.
In a similar vein, he mentioned that they don't try to adjust their products to culture; they adjust culture to their products. It's true. If you look at nearly any CP+B campaign, they've gone blatantly against societal norms and forged their own ground. Rather than chasing after trends, they create them. Besides, by the time you become aware of a trend and try to insert it into your work, you're already too late. The point of pop culture is to be constantly changing, he said, and they've become an active member in it. Think of some of the phenomenons they've given birth to: the Burger King King, BK video games for X Box, VW's "unpimp ze auto," etc.
This has lead their work to be some of the most talked about, inside the industry and out, which is perfect because part of their agency philosophy: ". . . to create the most talked about, written about work in the world." Think about it. Even the Orville Redenbacher campaign that got panned across the board got a lot of press. In that case, it got people talking and thinking about the brand—something that had never happened before.
Personally, I hated the BK stuff for a good year or two when it first came out. But you know what? Before that I had completely stopped eating there. Yet, after the campaign started, it became basically the only fast food that I would stop at. It was compelling, and it was in my brain, even if I despised it at the time.
So how do you get into the press with your work? Alex revealed that at CP+B they've recently started writing up description of their Big Ideas as press releases rather than simple paragraphs. It's brilliant really. What do you want to hear being said about your work? Start with that and then work backwards from there.
The big lesson was think about your process. Examine every step and see how you can put yourself ahead. Don't do what's been done or even what others have just started about doing. Make your own culture and let people be drawn to you.
Listening to him speak was really a treat and one that should fire up any creative. He pushed the audience to be yourself and be different. That's the ideal that CP+B was founded on. To be great, we all have to find what truths are buried in ourselves and then act on them.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Rock 'n Roll Advertising
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Monday, November 5, 2007
Extraordinary Mediocrity
As I was watching Mythbusters (love it) tonight I experienced the most jaw-droppingly mediocre ad that I have ever seen. Thanks to the miracle known as TiVO I was able to transcribe this stunning example of milquetoastocity brought to us by the lovely people at RE/MAX.
Voice-over: You can feel it.
Music: Flyin’ hiiii-iiigh!
Voice-over: Something special happens when the world’s most uncommon people come together with a common vision: to be the best in the world. RE/MAX agents are united with the passion that creates enduring excellence—a team of red, white and blue, merging your dreams with their devotion to reach higher.
Music: Flyin’ hiiii-iiiigh!
Voice-over: RE/MAX. Outstanding agents. Outstanding results.
I literally began to laugh out loud as soon as it had ended. It's truly unbelievable to me that anyone could ever write such miserable drivel and then go all the way to get it produced and then spend thousands of dollars to put it on the air.
There are so many clichés in there that I really don't think anything more needs to be said. The only thing that will make this better is what is going on the screen while all this literary injustice is being perpetrated.
Young, attractive people in red, white and blue skydiving jumpsuits walk down a runway. Man and woman give each other a handshake/high-five. A line of three red, white and blue Cessna planes barrel forwards as they takeoff over camera. Young, attractive people join hands in the inside of a plane to give pump-up cheer before jumping. Asian guy jumps out first, followed by exterior shot of the rest of the team pouring out of the planes. The sky is filled with skydiving RE/MAX agents. They begin to move together in unison. They begin to link hands, creating a formation. One African-American woman spins around and friendly waves to the camera with both hands reassuring the audience to join the group. Reverse shot shows what she see, the last of the agents flying towards her, yelling in ecstasy. They link up. She gives him a double thumbs-up. Wide shot from above the formation: The agents have formed a giant RE/MAX hot-air balloon with their bodies. Wide shot from below the formation. The agents begin to break away. The African-American woman waves goodbye to her friend. Her friend looks into the camera, again his face twisted in euphoria, as he releases his parachute and shoots up and out of the frame. Shot looking up from the ground as all the agents finally begin to land, their parachutes proudly displaying the RE/MAX logo. One final high-five as one agent touches down. Final shot as two agents walk towards the sun, parachutes in hand. The taller one on the left wraps his arm around the other's shoulder. A computer-generated RE/MAX hot-air balloon floats happily in the background.
Please.
Make the bleeding between my ears stop.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Need some inspiration?
The Boy with the Incredible Brain
A very nice documentary about one of the world's most gifted savants, a 20-something from England who experiences numbers as vibrant visual landscapes, computes calculations up to the 100th decimal in his head and can learn a language in one week. It reminds you what an amazing thing reality can be.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Friday, November 2, 2007
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Dude.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmFBOVZ6BLM
While I don't think that this ad is anywhere near ground-breaking, I still find it assuming if only because I thinkt I've used the word "dude" is just about every situation that they show.
Example: My friend Shane at the wheel of his Jeep, me in the passenger seat, turning left at an intersection. Old lady crossing the street parallel to our car to the left (i.e. where we're turning). Shane not paying attention at all, begins to turn, barreling straight for the old lady with a cane.
Me: "Dude."
Shane: "What?"
Getting closer.
Me: "Dude."
Shane: "Huh?"
Bearing down right on top of her.
Me: "DUDE!"
Just so you know, no, Shane did not hit her, but she did literally have to jump out of the way. She had a cane. It was kind of messed up.
Anyway, while this ad isn't really anything new or earth-shattering, it's completely relatable to any, well, dude. I like the way the "plot" is tied back to the product at the end although it could have been a much better pay-off. Either way, Bud Light has shown that they understand dudes. In case you didn't feel that between getting hit in the face with rocks or hiring a auctioneer for your buddy's wedding.
Actually, that brings up a good point. While Bud's other spots are much sillier and work for a laugh—their actual success can be argued—this spot is really not outlandish at all. It's far more genuine and (perhaps sadly) speaking the target's language quite faithfully. In fact, I think that the most unrealistic event in the whole spot is perhaps the ordering of wine at the end. But they do hit on a lot of dudeisms nicely—sitting too closely, yelling from outside a window, sour milk in the fridge, etc. So, while definitely not the most intelligent spot ever created, kudos for making a more genuine beer ad that's still amusing.
I'm sick and tired of seeing disingenuous spots about a man getting as excited that his beer label just turned blue as his wife is about a positive pregnancy test. Not funny, not real. Keep your advertising bullshit to yourself and learn to talk with people rather than at them. You're not convincing anyone.
Bonus points for a somewhat unexpected soundtrack too.
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