slate rebuttal

"Crispin also appears to have a strange obsession with dictating the bounds of male identity. In the "Un-pimp Your Ride" spots for VW, a somewhat cruel protagonist ridicules young men who dare to seek self-expression through the art of modifying their cars. In the "Making Things Right" campaign for Haggar, two middle-aged guys gruffly rule their suburban neighborhood—advocating physical force against any young men who dare to wear earrings, or listen to rap music, or date your daughter. And then there's that Man Law campaign for Miller, where the concept achieves its most literal form.

I hate this kind of subjugating, behavior-circumscribing, frat-guy approach to humor. 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.- The Hottest Ad Agency in the Country And why I sort of hate it. By Seth Stevenson


Here's why you're wrong.




Seth:

Dude, you play squash, C P + B is not talking to you. You admit it yourself- you have no respect for the "beer-pong" cohort. I've never played beer-pong nor have I been to a fraternity, but I can tell you that the Man Law & the BK spots with men throwing minivans off of bridges speaks to all of us out there who hate convention. You see Seth, this 54 million plus "Ipod Generation" is bored to tears. We are crying Seth; we are exposed to over 3,000 media messages a day. Some of those spots better make us laugh- or else.

C P + B gets this audience because they are this audience. Ever been inside their Miami office? You can skateboard in there, and everyone is wearing flip flops- far from frat guys they are creative types who love art and music. This is the kind of agency that can speak to a generation that has selective hearing. Why? The message isn't being concocted by a bunch of Brooks Brother wearing-over-the-hill-bores. We are coveted by almost every brand out there- so why not target us directly?

Obviously this kind of humor works, look how successful the movies Old School & Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan are. I do agree with a point you raise; does this approach improve the bottom line? We'll see, but I bet you three Mojitos that Crispin is going to keep the VW & BK accounts when they come up for review.

Your friend,
Meg