For all of you who think we do nothing around here but heap praise on agency-of-the minute Crispin Porter + Bogusky, we have news for you. We have a new favorite agency and you’ve probably never heard of it. It’s in Cleveland – which many a New Yorker may never have heard of either – and it’s called Brokaw. In existence for 15 years, the place just drips with wit.
Tossing political correctness aside, Brokaw created a campaign for Horton Crossbow which proudly proclaimed “Hunters really aren’t so different from other environmentalists. We just like to keep souvenirs.” Then, the agency released a 15th anniversary video highlighting its work but, eschewing all sense of normalcy, self-mocked itself with a montage and song that was so bad it was good. Following that, it did some really nice work for the Cleveland Art Institute.
Now, it’s completed a radio campaign for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority which perfectly identifies with those of us who insist upon driving to work – as opposed to using public transportation – enduring commuting insanities such as construction sites that aren’t being constructed, speed cameras that mess up one’s day, gas stations with pumps that don’t work and traffic reporters who can’t report – all delivered with the same deadpan stupor most commuters find themselves in as they travel to work.
Of course, in this business, everything is a matter of opinion and we are more fickle that a teenager deciding what to wear to school in the morning. Gieven that, we might hate Brokaw next week but this week we like them. A lot.
