Alex Bogusky
Alex Bogusky likes to stir things up. Whether it’s covering his book Hoopla (about his agency) in sandpaper, or irritating much of the Spanish-speaking world with a Mexican wrestler in an ad for Burger King, it’s all part of his passion to earn added value for brands by injecting them into the pop-culture conversation. While his methods are alternately revered and reviled in the industry, few would disagree that the Crispin Porter + Bogusky co-chairman is the one man who most shaped creative trends in advertising over the past decade. Look at the BK output alone: a chicken in garters that fueled a viral riot; the King himself, creepy and ubiquitous; video games; pay-per-view chicken fights; freakouts, virgins and sacrifices. Bogusky takes clients to all sorts of places (yes, even to Boulder, Colo.) for great advertising. His work ethic gives new meaning to the term “sweatshop,” but for junior creatives, a stint at Crispin can make a career. The author of two books that are perfectly extruded advertising products, Bogusky has reinvented the agency business. “As a rule, we get off more on the culture-jamming aspect of what we do for clients than the actual advertising aspects,” he has said. It makes people mad, but clients famous. —Barbara Lippert
