Whopper Virgins by CP+B
Crispin, Porter + Bogusky is an advert­ising agency that, to say the least, divides opinion. When bestowing its coveted agency of the year award for 2008 on CP+B, the US trade magazine Ad Age sounded almost apologetic, acknowledging that the announcement meant that “any number of curmudgeonly bloggers and envious creative types all over adland are fuming”. Its sister title, Creativity, observed that “the agency is unrivalled in the amount and the intensity of antipathy it arouses”. Most successful advertising agencies will suffer sniping from others in the industry, often motivated by simple jealousy, yet CP+B’s detractors are especially persistent and vocal – but why?