Crispin haters unite in ‘most-overrated’ poll
—Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Whatever, lots of people are jealous of CPB so instead of saying "I wish we could be like them" they say "oh, they go against the status quo, so we must hate them."
Why can't we admit that the BK spots are very original for the category? I fucking hate McDonald's I'm Loving it.
Posted by: Bobby | Jan 4, 2008 4:40:26 PM
It's Droga5 in a landslide.
Posted by: | Jan 4, 2008 7:22:30 PM
Crispin are so so over rated.
Posted by: pro | Jan 5, 2008 2:41:05 AM
Really pro? Lets see. Crispin wins all the awards, makes all the headlines, is featured in mainstream publications, wins accounts without even pitching them (Burger King), they have their own gym, their last christmas party featured tigers and acrobats, they have people that pick up the worker's dry cleaning, their creatives get to come to work in flip flops and shorts, and they never hunger for talent since everyone wants to work for them, even if the wages are low, because they know a job at Crispin leads to a higher paying job somewhere else. Oh, and I hear that when Crispin presents an idea to a client, they're very likely to buy it just because it's an idea from CPB, and they've been proven right hundreds of times.
Can you say the same about your agency? I know I can't.
Neither Leo Burnett, Chiat Day, BBDO, or Draft are nearly as creative as Crispin. So give them some credit, they deserve it.
Posted by: Bobby | Jan 5, 2008 1:10:53 PM
Crispin's mission is "fame for our clients, at any cost." That's what I love about the agency. It's really not about creative, it's about generating fame. And the more heat they take for staying that course, the bigger their own spotlight gets.
Posted by: Billy Argle | Jan 5, 2008 7:35:42 PM
You gotta hand it to Crispin. They always swing for the fences. And any client that signs up is gonna get some attention. Which is really what this business is about, right? They're also the one agency that's consistently raising the bar for everyone else in this industry. And any creative who says he wouldn't want to work there is kidding himself.
Posted by: | Jan 5, 2008 8:00:14 PM
Surely you must be joking Bobby. I cannot tell if your reply was in support of Crispin or not. They are a one trick pony. Bad TV that doesnt just cost clients a lot of money but a lot of their brand credibility as well. yes they win a ton of business, but they also lose most of it a little while later. I am sure a lot of students want to work there, who else would put up with their terrible pay.( geniune sweat shop) and their work is a reflection of that. Student ideas with better than average production values.
The fact that clients will buy anything they want makes it even worse. That sort of free pass and they still do below par ideas. Childish, and throw away gags.
so they have free dry cleaning pick up.
Wow, i suppose that is for all their clients when they are finally presented some work. ie: (Nike )
Can someone please tell me one thing, just one, that they have produced, that raised the bar for our industry?
Posted by: Billy | Jan 5, 2008 8:39:35 PM
Historically people might say that Crispin is overrated, but the truth is they're no longer king of the mountain. Goodby took over agency of the year for general and R/GA is reigning digital agency of the year. Crispin took a back seat for the first year in awhile. Crispin will continue to do good work but they're no longer the hottest agency on the planet. That's how it goes, everything happens in cycles. There was a time when Grey was the hottest agency. Where are they now? Eventually every shop gets too big for it's own good and sinks itself. I think Crispin expanding into Denver and getting too cocky by bringing back Orville from the dead are good examples of them taking their first steps towards the inevitable decline. It's safe to say they're past their prime at the moment...but that doesn't mean they still did some great work this year. They're just not the same as they were in the Subservient Chicken/Mini/Ikea era.
Posted by: Jonny | Jan 5, 2008 10:48:22 PM
I think Crispin is probably the most over-rated agency out there right now. If you're a client, there's no quality control there. On any given day, they could either be the best or the worst agency in the country. And that's what makes them the most over-rated agency to me.
I'll agree that they do brilliant, even ground-breaking work...sometimes. But I also think that they do lots of genuinely terrible work. Which I can't really say about Goodby, or Wieden, or Chiat. I mean, some of Crispin's tv work is actually some of the worst advertising out there. And that inconsistancy is what makes them highly questionable as "the best" agency.
I give them lots of credit. CPB did The Subservient Chicken. Mini Cooper. The BK Videogame. And rejuvenated the Burger King. VW Safe Happens spots. I'll even go back years and say the Ikea Lamp spot. And those were all great.
But they also did Coke Zero's Chilltop. That Coke Zero secret formula spot. Creepy Orville Redenbacher. or was that "Redenbees"? Miller Lite's Taste Trial. Anyone remember Flavor Flav screaming "Yeah Boooooy!" holding out a Miller Lite? Then "Man Laws" followed by BKs "Manthem". Then Miller Lite's Thinker statue spot? Those Hagar spots? A year of mostly flat VW television (suicide jumper? Ego Emmisions? My fast?) that pales to Arnold's work. That confusing Sprite Sublymonal campaign? The new Caveman Nike Spot that wants to be a Wieden commercial and falls way short on execution and concept. That High Life Delivery Man ad that felt like an addy version of the classic Erroll Morris campaign. That Miller Beer Giant? Did anyone else see their Gateway Computer work? Or their Earthlink work?
There was a time when it felt like everything Crispin did was gold. But that time feels over. Sometimes they seem content to make "first-idea" addy work. Other times they step up and seem to be swinging for the fences. But in the end, their batting average seems way off.
I think Crispin's a really strange agency. They're both brilliant and horrible at the same time.
Posted by: | Jan 6, 2008 4:19:00 PM
The great work they do far outweighs the bad. Sure, Orville was a swing and a miss. And VW has been spotty. But BK is great. (Polarizing, sure, but I think it's the best QSR stuff out there.) The Truth stuff is great. The Giro helmet stuff is great. They've done great work for mini. They've done great work for Miller. Great work for Ikea. They've even done great work for Slim Jims. One of the thing's I respect about what they do is that there are no black sheep clients on their roster. It seems every client gets the full effort. How many other agencies can claim that?
Posted by: | Jan 6, 2008 6:33:42 PM
I don't think Crispin's a one-trick pony that's already jumped the shark (a phrase which itself jumped the shark a few years back).
But I don't agree that, as the last poster said, "the great work they do far outweighs the bad." As evidence, he (or she) cites, among others, Mini and Ikea. Too bad those accounts are long gone.
The cold fact of the matter is, Crispin's output has become increasingly erratic and formulaic. And while they are far from has-beens, their batting average over the past two years has slipped dramatically.
Just compare their work for VW with their earlier work for Mini. Aside from the "Safe Happens" campaign, another commercial they did this year that was a tie-in to "The Bourne Ultimatum" and a few cool online components, can you really think of anything they've done for VW that has, as another poster claimed, raised the bar?
Or compare the new Domino's commercials which just broke with their work for Burger King. It's the kind of insipid, uninspired drivel that would evoke howls of derision if it spewed forth from the bowels of Grey or JWT. But slap Crispin's name on it and you'll have adoring acolytes like Bobby signing its praises.
(And don't even get me started on the strategy behind the Domino's campaign. Maybe Bobby can explain to me why reminding people how long it takes to get their pizzas is a good thing -- especially since most chains deliver pizzas in about the same time anyway.)
Perhaps more to the point, compare Crispin's Nike commercial with the guy on the treadmill to Weiden's Nike commercial featuring the basketball player in a wheelchair.
The fact is, aside from the Coke Zero "taste infringement" campaign and some of their work for BK (including the recent Whopper Freakout, which, like the Coke Zero campaign, resurrects the hidden camera schtick from the Truth campaign), I'd be hard pressed to think of anything Crispin's done last year that really stood out -- at least in a good way.
Orville Redenbacher? Ask.com? Miller? Haggar? Anyone?
Overrated as they are, Crispin's still just about the best agency out there. But that says as much, if not more, about the overall lackluster state of the industry these days than it does about the excellence of Crispin's output.
Posted by: Mott the Hoople | Jan 6, 2008 8:32:12 PM
Crispin does great work for the male who just hit, or just got out of puberty. I think that's the people who work in that agency anyway.
Anyways, advertising is overrated. I can't wait for ad agencies to die.
Posted by: Somebody | Jan 7, 2008 11:42:12 AM
You know what's overrated? Adweek, for making this an issue. This isn't politics, or professional sports, or hollywood. What we do is certainly creative, but it's purpose is to help businesses grow. We shouldn't be naval-gazing like this. Leave that for the ego-driven industries that thrive on hype and publicity. If Crispin is overrated, it's as much for the constantly self-reflecting articles, polls and "Agency of the Year" awards that our own community constantly feeds us.
Posted by: JDog | Jan 7, 2008 12:35:34 PM
Did you ever see the work Crispin did for Pony? It makes Skechers look good.
Posted by: Al Kaeda | Jan 7, 2008 1:38:46 PM
nice comment, Mott. And nice name, too. ;-)
Posted by: | Jan 7, 2008 1:55:21 PM
And how many of you losers would kill your grandmother for just a sniff from CPB?
It's so easy for hacks to sit back and fire shots.
Posted by: | Jan 7, 2008 2:50:51 PM
JDOG nailed it. Sometimes it feels like we work in Pro Wrestling with all the grandstanding and egos thrown around. This is silly.
Posted by: Ha! | Jan 7, 2008 3:17:38 PM
By virtue of the fact that I'm taking time out of my day to comment on this subject, is proof enough that CP+B - love them or hate them - illicit strong feelings.
For me, it's not a question of whether they've done good work. In some cases stellar work. They have, and sometimes, they still do. What I find unsettling, and maybe even a little sad, is that at some point, all of the agency output stopped being about the products and services that they were being paid to sell, and became all about Crispin.
I never see a BK ad, I always see Crispin. Movie critics often speak of those actors who lose themselves in the role. They are so focused on immersing themselves in the character, that you no longer see the actor, you only see that character. Daniel Day Lewis would fall into this category. His role in the amazing film "There Will Be Blood" is a Master's class in "role immersion." Go and see it. There's not a trace of Mr. Lewis in the entire movie.
DeNiro? Great actor. Maybe one of the best ever. Iconic. But at some point he became...visible. Now, regardless of what he does, I only see DeNiro. It's a shame. And the same thing happened to CP+B. Mini, Ikea, Miller Lite, BK - Crispin is in every frame and on every billboard. But here's the thing: I don't think it's Crispin's fault. At least, not entirely.
Wanna blame someone for Crispin's ascension to the top of the mountain? Blame every award show and trade rag that has played the role of enabler, inflating Crispin's already engorged ego to unheard of heights.
Should good work be recognized? Absolutely. When it's ABOUT the work and not about the agency producing that work.
David Ogilvy was once quoted as saying "a good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself." Was he right? Who knows? Maybe the next time a Crispin commercial comes on, ya know - the one that sells the burgers - you can decide for yourself.
Posted by: Matt | Jan 7, 2008 4:57:32 PM
"It's so easy for hacks to sit back and fire shots."
It's even easier for anonymous commentators to indulge in name calling without providing a compelling, cogent counter argument. If you think the sun shines out of Crispin's ass, why not tell us why? Or are you just more comfortable hiding in the shadows, hurling grade-school insults?
Crispin's done some great work, no doubt. But that doesn't mean they're not overrated. Much of their work of late seems sloppy and self-indulgent. I think they're starting to believe their press clippings and are becoming blinded by their "brilliance."
And sorry, Mr. Morrisey, saying so doesn't make me "a hater." It just makes me honest.
Anyway, JDOG is right. Why the hell are we -- including me -- wasting our time talking about this shit? We all need to grow up.
Posted by: Steve Randall | Jan 7, 2008 5:02:05 PM
Surely you must be joking Bobby.
---I'm not.
Bad TV that doesnt just cost clients a lot of money but a lot of their brand credibility as well. yes they win a ton of business,
---And what do you define as bad TV? An odd commercial from CPB or 99.9% of the crap people in our industry do everyday? So what if it costs our clients money? Let me tell you something, I rarely see clients give credit to their advertising agencies. When a car sells well, it's always a bunch of asshole executives that go on TV to tell everyone how wonderful their products are. Here's some advice, don't even bother caring about your precious clients, the only thing that matters is having fun with their money. I've seen clients fire agencies not because sales were bad but because they wanted to try a new agency. So as far as I'm concerned, fuck the client!
"Student ideas with better than average production values.
"
---So what? I've had CD's that don't want to do commercials with gambling, religion, violence, obscenity, negativity The beauty of those students is that they haven't been corrupted by our industry, so they can still manage to think of fresh ideas without the stupid filters anyone with experience develops.
"The fact that clients will buy anything they want makes it even worse."
---You're wrong, in the old days of Bill Bernbach, his agreement with clients was that they had to accept the work he presented or look for another agency. That's why he never got to be #1, but the work he did was groundbreaking. Clients don't know shit about advertising, they only know about their products. Would you tell a surgeon how to do his job? Of course not. Clients should not tell agencies how to do our work.
"Can someone please tell me one thing, just one, that they have produced, that raised the bar for our industry?"
---Their entire campaign for MINI, their Truth campaign, using german people to sell Volkswaguen online (most mainstream agencies would never allow that), their Burger King campaign, their guerrilla stunts, etc, etc, etc.
Now fine, maybe not everything they do is brilliant, every agency does crappy work, even CPB, but percentage wise, CPB does a lot less crap than other places. They even fired Gateway after realizing those bastards wanted to do the same all boring retail shit they've done with other agencies.
So I hope CPB keeps raising eyebrows, winnning awards, getting publicity, and maybe someday our clients will finally decide to bring their cojones to work and say "please motherfuckers, don't give us the same old shit, show us something great."
Until them, I'm just gonna keep watching horror movies for inspiration and fast forwarding bad commercials.
Posted by: Bobby | Jan 7, 2008 7:46:38 PM
"Bobby",
We all know you work for CPB.
Posted by: | Jan 7, 2008 9:47:25 PM
Me work for CPB? I wish.
Posted by: Bobby | Jan 8, 2008 2:13:32 PM
I found the sandpaper-covered monograph a bit self-indulgent, but other than being a bit tired of hearing about them, I wouldn't say they're overrated. Can anyone point to another agency that has been more influential recently? I don't think so.
And JDog, while I agree with your sentiment, I thought the "Leave that for the ego-driven industries that thrive on hype and publicity" comment was a bit disingenuous--would any of us be in advertising if we weren't somewhat ego-driven? Isn't part of being creative the stubborn belief that you have something to say? And furthermore, aren't hype and publicity exactly what advertising does thrive on?
Posted by: Nate D. | Jan 9, 2008 3:42:39 PM
I think Crispin's real strength isn;t in their creative (which is fun) but in their account team. I think that a lot of agencies have to creative muscle to do what Crispin's doing (even Draft and BBDO) but no one else has an account team that's willing to fight to sell interesting work.
Posted by: oatsoda | Jan 9, 2008 7:34:05 PM
"Isn't part of being creative the stubborn belief that you have something to say?"
---I used to believe that, but not anymore. I have something to say, but I don't say it in my advertising, I say it in blogs and e-mails and other mediums. In advertising, I only say what others want me to say. This is a people pleasing business, if you love commercials with gambling and your CD thinks gambling is a sin (I had one of those), you can forget about using gambling in your advertising.
Only the big shots get to say their piece. The rest of us, we follow orders and survive on our way to the top.
Posted by: Bobby | Jan 10, 2008 11:18:55 AM
