Alex Bogusky: Kicking off the Innovator Series
By Joanna Nasar

Journalist and author Warren Berger, left, interviews Alex Bogusky in the ATLAS studio.

Alex Bogusky says he is driven by creative momentum and a need to test the limits whether he is motocross racing, windsurfing or working on an ad campaign.

"What we believe in is momentum. You have got to get momentum for the brand, and then you have got to keep that momentum," Bogusky said in March during a speech in the ATLAS Building.

Bogusky, co-chairman of the advertising firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky, was the first speaker in the Innovator Series, which brings top advertising creatives to CU. The Boulder- and Miami-based company started out with 16 employees, he said, adding that under his guidance, it has grown to about 700 employees. Clients include Microsoft, Burger King and Volkswagen, among others.

Bogusky is known for his often edgy, documentary-style, playful ads focused on points of cultural tension.

"A lot of times, companies will hire us to come in and be the change agents, which is cool," Bogusky told his audience of about 80.

His ads aim to create cultural trends rather than line up with them, he said, adding that he tries to do that with a variety of media rather than one "silver bullet" TV ad.

In the Volkswagen GTI campaign, Bogusky said his agency created a way to upgrade the car online. Simultaneously, it ran ads that played up the "superior German engineering." Also, the agency created a MySpace page for the chief ad character "Helga." After the first month, Volkswagen GTI sales were 80 percent above the sales forecast, he said.

"We wanted to interact, we wanted to play, we wanted to prank," Bogusky said.

After the talk, one audience member asked Bogusky if he had a dream client. He said he used to but does not anymore because the most interesting clients are the ones who approach him because of CP + B's reputation and success.

Senior Advertising major Lauren Snell, 22, said after Bogusky's talk that she thought his approach was inspiring. "He gives this hope that it doesn't have to be by the book all the time," she said. "He just did what he wanted to do when it felt right."