CP+B Reels in Another, No One Talks

Comments

Crispin and Ogilvy representatives referred calls to the Coke.

That is some damn funny wording Adage. But good point Steve, CP+B should release an image to the media of all of the grinning from ear to ear.

Okay...I acknowledge and honor CP+B in all its greatness. But Jesus, this string of luck....I am beginning to believe Alex has sold his soul.

LUCK?!? Not to sound like I'm blowing Alex, but you get accounts by being the best out there. Luck has little to do with it.

What makes them the best? They're all right, but really no better than any other agency.

Dude, where the fuck do YOU work?

It's not there better or luckier than some of the other agencies out there...it's because they are 'IT' agency right now. They do great work and have a lot of buzz which is why clients are leaning toward them. Once the buzz fades, they may still win the sprite and VW accounts, but not as easily and defenitly not as frequently. Ride the wave, cause it's gonna fade.

I live in the present, and if CP+B is "it," then "it"'s where I want to be right now.

Great, does this mean more stupid microsites?

You all know this is because of the subserviant chicken viral from last year. Damn you CP+B! Damn you!

Oh and I love how this industry likes to suck its own d*ck. I bet half of the impressions from the subservient chicken microsite was from industry heads.

And their EarthLink microsite is absolutely horrible!

They are the "it" agency right now. Much like for most of the 90's Goodby, Wieden, Fallon and maybe Martin took turns being the "it" agency. Still all very good, respectable agencies, but their "it" status caused them to grow to a size where they lost some of their "it" factor and had to mature. Mother and Strawberry Frog will likely be the "it" agencies in the near future as will a host of young, hungry, smart agencies that are still working to define their style and thinking. All of these are damm good agencies and will continue to be so whether they are currently "it", use to be "it" or are soon to be "it"

does this mean no more little black dude?

I love laughing at that little black man when he strolled around talking all that black jive. Sprite is the best.

Kanye doesn't care about Sprite. He is a Pepsi man.

You may live in the present, Melissa, but you should be thinking about the future. Crispin is hot right now, no doubt - partly because they do some terrific stuff, partly because they are shameless attention whores.

But as Bevo pointed out, there are a host of younger, hungrier shops nipping at their heels. Crispin's heat will fade eventually and another agency will be “IT" (as in rhymes with "SH--").

Just look at some of Crispin's recent work. There are still the expected flashes of genius. But there's also the Earthlink microsite. (I agree with Teck: It's terrible. In fact, can anyone name one thing Crispin's done for Earthlink that couldn't just as easily come from a Grey or a Y&R?) And let's not forget their craptacular "Chilltop" commercial for Coke Zero -- easily the worst spot of the year so far (and yes, that includes those Ditech commercials).

I'm not suggesting Crispin has jumped the shark. I'm sure they will continue to amaze and astound with new work for VW and Sprite. But the hype surrounding them is so overheated that no one can live up to that for long. And don't forget Jay Chiat's famous question: How big can you get before you get bad? With so much new business to absorb, will Crispin be able to maintain their high standards across the board? Or will some of their smaller accounts suffer? Ikea and Borders have already defected to other agencies and they couldn't make any headway with Gateway.

Crispin has been a solid creative shop for years and years. They've also been attention whores for years and years - I mean that in the best way possible.

What goes up will come down but being on the creative staff of CP+B during hot years will NEVER be a bad thing for an ambitious young gun. Besides learning from some of the best Sr. people around, CP+B creative employees learn what it’s like to work and work hard, just like they did at Weiden, Fallon, Goodby, et all.

Gotta disagree with you on one point, Bruce: I'm not sure being an attention whore is such a good thing. Crispin deserves much of the acclaim and adulation they get, but their insatiable lust for publicity could wind up biting them in their well-clad behinds.

Here's a perfect example. "Creativity" magazine - whose fawning fealty to Crispin exceeds even "Adweek's" sniveling toadyism - sends out an e-mail update several times a week. The one I got yesterday had a blurb about how the creative community was responding to the unprecedented tragedy in New Orleans. One of the agencies mentioned was - surprise, surprise - Crispin.

And what did they do? Did they open their homes and offices to displaced ad professionals as a number of other agencies have done? Did they create a PSA on short notice like GSD&M?

No. They cancelled a big party they were going to have.

Granted, they gave the money they would've spent to relief efforts - a tidy sum, I'm sure. Which is certainly generous - but hardly newsworthy.

I'm certain agencies and individuals all over the country are stepping up to the plate and making contributions. But most of them have the good taste not to turn human misery into a PR ploy. Most of them aren't trumpeting their good works by issuing press releases or calling up friendly reporters/lapdogs.

Why couldn't they simply donate the money quietly? Why isn't the act of giving reward enough? Haven't they gotten enough press already this week with their VW and Sprite wins? Do they honestly need any more publicity at this point?

Their need to be at the center of attention has gone from pathological to pathetic.

Shameless attention whores?

Isn't advertising essentially the art of jumping up and down and waving your arms, calling attention to yourself? Separating yourself from the pack?

If they do this very effectively for themselves, I'd want them doing it for my gadget or service. Yeah, there's buzz, but did it just happen spontaneously?
They manufacture it. Just like the do for they're clients.

True enough, Zeek. But a little restraint now and then isn't a bad thing either. Crispin is already getting reams of press from their recent account wins. They hardly need to exploit a tragedy just for a few precious more column inches.

Too much hype can lead to a backlash. As insanely image conscious as Crispin is, you'd think they'd recognize the dangers of overexposure.

I agree sniffing for press after Katrina, no matter how noble the donation, is pretty shitty.

I find it ironic that all you guys are complaining about them being publicity hounds in response to an article about them not talking or commenting about the Sprite win.

Gee, Chuck, maybe it's because it's equally ironic that such shameless publicity hounds aren't shouting from the rooftops about their Sprite win.

Double the irony, double the fun.