Slate's ad critic Seth Stevenson weighs in on Coconut Grove-based Crispin Porter + Bogusky: "The Hottest Ad Agency in the Country: And Why I Sort of Hate It." He warns that "Crispin risks pigeonholing itself as an agency that understands only one kind of person."
CPB is known for its success at marketing fast food, beer, and cars to the type of male who likes girls who like football, has no qualms about belching at the dinner table, and who apparently lives in terror of some sort of spa-going epidemic.
"I hate this kind of subjugating, behavior-circumscribing, frat-guy approach to humor," writes Stevenson. "I realize it appeals to a certain target demographic (i.e., fratty guys of all ages). But it repels almost everyone else. And there's a danger in that."
Among other campaigns, Crispin is responsible for Miller's "Man Law" ads that were unavoidable during the Miami Heat playoff games last year. There's also the Burger King "I Am Man" campaign, and the Volkswagen ad that encourages men to "get in touch with their fast" -- a euphemism for testosterone, says Stevenson.
It should be noted that a large chunk of Crispin's executive staff deserted Miami last summer for a new branch of the agency in Boulder, Colorado, where there's easier access to things like rock climbing and hang gliding and white water rafts. --Emily Witt
