Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Crispin Porter + Bogusky designed this concept in conjunction with Trek Bicycles and the insurance company Humana.

Technically, the client is B-Cycle, but the B-Cycle brand and bicycle prototype were the brainchild of Crispin Porter's own Alex Bogusky. He only unveiled the prototype at the SXSW conference in 2009, so this is a very new brand. On Earth Day of this year, April 22nd, B-Cycle is going to be launched in Denver, Colorado, where they will debut 500 B-Cycles at 50 B-Stations across the city as part of the pioneering "bike-sharing" initiative. Despite the fact that B-Cycle is just beginning it's product launch this month, there are already plans to construct B-Stations in other major cities in the U.S. The logistics of B-Cycle are fully explained in the video above, however, I found out that B-Cycle only costs $65 for an annual pass, but if you rent by the day, you could end up paying up to $65 ($65 is the cap on costs for renting the cycles). The cost break down makes it obvious to consumers that the annual pass is by far the best deal; I wonder if they set this price point, predicting that people who buy the annual pass will use the product more, and in turn the increased usage will build brand awareness. It will be interesting to see if this idea starts to catch on, or if it ends up being more of a hassle than a help to commuters looking for an alternative to riding their own bike. It certainly does speak to the power of advertising as a launching pad for new ideas, not just new ways of selling old products. This shows that advertisers can create and build their own brand as well; advertising is a discipline centered around creating, not recycling ideas.

Typically, work from Crispin Porter + Bogusky has a reputation for being wild and quirky, and sometimes weird, so this ad surprised me a little bit because it seems so straightforward and objective in relation to the outlandish work they have been known to produce in the past. The B-Cycle is a very eco-friendly and innovative idea, yet somehow it seems so simple that I wonder why no one thought of this before. We already rent cars when we want to go short distances and then give the car back, so why not bikes? Since this is an original company and concept, the ad needs to be informative, and it is. This video is simple and explanatory and really focuses on raising awareness for what B-Cycle is and the logistics of where and how you can find it. It shows a versatility in Crispin Porter, as this work proves they are an agency that doesn't have to rely on eccentricity in their advertising, and they can even be the inventors of the product they are advertising.