• by Larissa Faw , Staff Writer, June 23, 2016

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese recently changed its recipe to all-natural ingredients but no one noticed, says Chuck Porter of ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+B) during his presentation at Cannes Lions this week. The food brand did put the announcement on its box, but no one reads that, he quipped.  

Three months after this switch, Kraft and CP+B released print ads that said "We would have invited you to try it, but you already have." The entire project cost "a little more than $7," but the day we announced it, the ad got more than 200 million conversations across social media, said Porter.  

That’s just one example of CP+B's new approach to global creativity. "In order to change the definition of global creative, you have to change the definition of the modern global agency," said Lori Senecal, Global CEO. 

What this entails specifically is still up for grabs. Many people have their own ideas - agencies need to be digital, virtual, 3D. "It has to be lots of things, but must really value a human agenda," Senecal said. At the end of the day, "it is inspired people that create inspired work."  

Too often global agencies fall into anonymity where people are sending other shops memos to people they have never met. CP+B, by comparison, has only 10 office chiefs that "can fit around the dinner table," jokes Senecal.  

Another important point of differentiation between other global agencies is that they have one head office, with the remaining offices serving as satellite support shops. Every office has to lead in order to be invested in their work, says Senecal. CP+B has also eliminated the traditional advertising hierarchy in favor of meritocracy where power is awarded to individuals almost exclusively based on ability and talent. "Rather than the biggest title wins, the biggest idea wins," says Senecal.  

Importantly, think global, but act local. Every office takes the global blueprint, but makes it fresh and relevant for their own region, she says. 

This evolution is particularly evident at CP+B's Hong Kong and Brazil offices. These shops aren't afraid to push for non-conventional creative. When working with a client in China, for instance, CP+B developed an aspirational luxury ad that conveyed a message that Chinese censors felt promoted cheating. This forced the agency to switch to a brother and sister. Instead of saying, honey I thought you were coming home tonight, the ad finds a brother and sister saying mom and dad were coming home to dinner. "We are the only agency to push incest through Chinese censorship," quipped Bo Deng, creative director, Hong Kong.  

And Brazil's office kick-started a movement after learning that client McCain has never produced French fries locally. The resulting campaign asked what if these fries were made in Brazil, says Marcos Medeiros, partner, CCO, Brazil.