Crispin Porter & Bogusky

Activision's DJ Hero is possibly the second biggest game title of the year. While the release of Modern Warfare 2 (also from Activision) yesterday will dominate holiday sales, the latest in letting-average-people-be-rockstars is sure to sweep the leisure world. DJ Hero lets you mixx and spin like the pros, and battle as legit musicians. For example, as Crispin demonstrates, Eminem versus Jay-Z. Pretty sweet.

Credits after the jump.

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Alex Bogusky and John Winsor wrote "Baked In: Creating Products and Businesses that Market Themselves". The book is a skin-deep advice column on melding product development with marketing — a common practice these days — that doesn't give away any secrets (probably) because A) Bogusky wants his agency to continue being a leader and B)Winsor just opened his own shop and needs to keep some stuff to himself. The L.A. Times review took advantage of that (whether they know it or not, but come one), and in doing so wrote one of the more entertaining-yet-inept reviews we've read to date.

I'm not an ad guy, but I've picked up a few things about the theory of this business, which doesn't mean anything. Regardless, from where I'm sitting, the review took easy potshots at what is an otherwise adequate perspective on how to do this. Like 'em or not, it's the guys behind Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and there's no arguing their success.

Some of the finer points from today's review, and some remarks from yours truly:

— "Running at a mere 150 pages of big type, the book is the ad guys' parochial perspective on why advertising and marketing so often fall flat. Surprise — they say it's not the ad guys' fault." (no they don't — they say what you all know: some products don't sell, and there's nothing advertising can do about it. It can be read a few pages at a time.)

— "The authors are certainly talented fellows. Bogusky is co-chairman of Crispin Porter & Bogusky, one of the world's most innovative companies, according to "Fast Company" magazine." (Wow, that story's about a year-and-a-half old. A quick Google search returns not-so-nice Gawker reports and, gasp, Fast Company, meaning Dan Neil probably did like 15 seconds of research and knows less about advertising than I do. Oh wait, he used to write about auto advertising, in 1991, for The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina — a hotbed of advertising prowess at a time of no-interwebs.)

— "First, the 'baked in' metaphor is obscenely cliched — right up there with 'new paradigm' and 'leverage' — and not particularly revealing." (True, truer, truest. But "Create Your Product Marketing When at the Same Time You Develop Said Product" is a shitty title, no? Also, the Times use the phrase 'half-baked' right there in the headline.)

— "...the authors propose a time when consumers will be able to design their own running shoe, drop off the plan at the local 3-D printer, lace 'em up and go. Except that running shoes are highly technical objects that draw on esoteric fields of biomechanics and materials science." (Have you ever sat through a marketing proposal that includes statistics on user-interface paradigms and gender marketing by socio-economic breakdown? Advertising isn't biomechanics, but it's not 1+1=2, either. An Arnell press conference is equally confounding.)

— "The notion that industrial design and advertising/marketing are somehow equal in terms of time, effort, resources, allotment of genius. They are not. It's far easier to craft marketing to fit the product than to craft product to fit somebody's idea of good marketing. To suggest otherwise seems arrogant and naive." (Key point, Neil is right that it's 'far easier' to do marketing after the fact. What he misses is that 99 times out of 100, he ignores advertising. We all do. Maybe the book sucks, but at least it makes an inroad at doing something different, which CP+B and V&S are a testament to, regardless of how good anyone thinks they are.)

— "All of these are good suggestions, and all of them could be found in an employee handbook from Procter & Gamble in 1955." (Ouch)

OK so Bogusky and Winsor have been knocked down a peg or two. Most of the reporting we've seen on this review is from people who don't seem to have read it, and just highlights the negativity. At this very moment sitting on my desk are titles from the likes of Linda Kaplan Thaler, Jay Williams, James Othmer, Steve Hall, Luke Sullivan and Robin Koval. None of them is particularly ground breaking, but what they most definitely do provide is insight into the brains of people whose names are recognizable.

Sullivan, for one, has made a name for himself with "Hey Whipple, Squeeze This" (the first ad book I read, not including like a thousand CAs). And then of course there's countless others out there. The point is, no one in advertising is capable of writing its Bible (which Neil seems to have been expecting) because it changes too much. Take 'Baked-In' for what it is — insights from two guys with the creative chops to write a book. And take Neil's review for what it is — a dying title's attempt at bankrolling traffic from a name they know will get attention.

More: "'Baked In' Theory Discussed by Samsung Marketing SVP"

Here for your amusement is an image of the Crispin, Porter team from (we're told) about 1992. Notice a particularly bright eyed Alex Bogusky, sitting next to Chuck Porter. If they could reach back and change anything, would it be the high-waisted white shorts, the oddly patterned dress or the khakis with white socks? Not sure that was ever fashionably appropriate, but nevermind. History!

Update: Forgot the names of everyone else. In the far back — Steve Horowitz (CW), Dave Swartz. (AD) Next row — Sara Gennett, Michael Bettendorf (CW), Ana Bogusky, Diane Durban (AD)

short row to the right — Gloria Schmall (Production), Shawn Wood (CW), Emily Chase (intern)

Front — Aileen Lopez (Studio), Chuck Porter, Alex Bogusky, Markham Cronin

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More: "Evan Fry Resigns from Crispin; Wants to 'Be F***ing Awesome'"

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A commenter on the 'Spy line informed us that long-time Crispin VP/creative director Evan Fry actually resigned from the agency two weeks before John Winsor and launched a social media site called "Be Fucking Awesome".

CP+B sources have confirmed Fry's departure and acknowledge his new endeavor, which sounds like Stuart Smalley on crack but is nevertheless a platform that lets registered users boast about their awesome deeds and build up an "Awesome Quotient." Take heed, though, good-doers, Fry's BFA adheres to the honor system.

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More: "John Winsor: Leaving Crispin"

John Winsor was recently in New York for advertising week, during which time he and Alex Bogusky hosted a party for the launch of their co-authored book 'Baked In: Creating Products and Businesses That Market Themselves'. Today we're told Winsor is leaving the agency, just weeks following the book getting published.

Winsor, who has been Crispin Porter + Bogusky's VP/Executive Director, Strategy and Product Innovation since 2007 when he sold his 11 year-old company Radar Communications to CP+B, was not available for comment. But a source tells us the author is leaving the agency.

A representative from CP+B did not immediately respond to a request for comment informs us that he is in fact leaving.

Winsor is no stranger to the buy-and-sell process. Prior to creating Radar — a market research consultancy, Winsor bought then fledgling "Women's Sports & Fitness" magazine. He would later sell this and a number of other sports-centered titles to Conde Nast.

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Best Buy is one of Crispin Porter + Bogusky's clients and the tech-goods store recently upstarted a speaker series called "The Leading Edge". To launch the series, they brought in Alex Bogusky, a man who considers himself an untrustworthy optimist, if you mash together a bunch of his remarks from the lengthy speech he gave in early September. Among his finer points:

— Every Monday Alex apparently walks in to work with a bloody wound and grosses people out. Ah, to be young.

— If you're 5-8 years old (which you aren't), your chances of survival in the wild are statistically higher than everyone else. Therefore, old companies suck at being flexible and won't survive (uh oh).

— A Chinese emporer wanted to reward the guy who invented Chess. When the guy asked only that the emperor give him a grain (bushel?) of rice and double it for every square on the chess board, things got ugly.

— The future, in terms of businessy things, can be predicted. Guess who knows how to do it!

— The auto industry is in the tank. GM included, but emphasis was put on how Toyota doesn't know what consumers want. We agree, but how come you didn't say the same thing about GM? Later, Bogusky says that GM should be involved in a bike sharing program like the one he started with Trek in Denver. Hmm, foreshadowing?

— Companies, many of them, are afraid of showing the world what happens inside and CP+B wants to help their clients open up. As someone who wants to see inside the agency, I formally request CP+B take a dose of its own Tussin.

— NetFlix should be worried about Redbox.

There's a lot more. Click continued for the next segment.

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On his Posterous blog Sunday, CP+B don Alex Bogusky waxed Yoda-like in a lengthy note aimed at fresh-faced ad/design/creative types.

Structured like an interview with himself, Bogusky's post begins with the question, "Why not take a moment to define success before you pursue it?" The man whose agency we hear is ratcheting up its relationship with Best Buy and was handed the Cuervo account (though CP+B wouldn't comment) tries to offer some sound career advice on success to the young 'uns.

Perhaps from some cold mountaintop abode, Bogusky answers "questions" including "How do I define success for myself?" and "So what do I do once I have a personal definition of success and a job too?" His reply to the latter includes:

"Once you are working you are in for a great ride because an agency is a busy place and there is always too much to do. For those who have ambition that means there is always a chance to grow and learn because people are always looking for somebody to pawn some work off onto. All you have to do is be there and get it done right. Getting it right is the key."

But we won't spoil the rest of Bogusky's sermon for you. Indulge the man (and his split persona) and save the cost of attending a career seminar.

Via Brand Flakes for Breakfast

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The countdown begins to Windows 7, maybe the most anticipated operating system of all time if only because should it fail, Microsoft will crumble. The ball's in your court, Crispin.

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A Denver-based band called New Age Dad, comprised of two proud papas along with two tots apparently, is hoping to provide CP+B with some inspiration as the agency gets over the VW loss and shops for a new automotive client.

Hokey name aside, the band is hoping that Crispin can use a treatment they penned (which includes their dreamy folk ditty "The Weekend" as heard above) for the Aspen hybrid car in an upcoming campaign. According to the Denver Egotist, the script was written over the course of a day this week and can be read on the band's site.

The act explains their background and objective, stating, "NAD is band of subdued homebodies and, minus label support at the moment, we plan on building a fan base and sterling reputation through play dates with other artists, musicians and filmmakers. Both dads in the band have worked extensively in print and web media and hope that licensing our music will one day pay our mortgages (print work surely won’t)." Hey, it worked for Moby.

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