Crowd Control: Is Turning To The Masses For Creative Input A Quick Fix Or The Way Of The Future?

ADWEEK — Crispin Porter + Bogusky recently ignited an online debate and protest campaign on Twitter when it crowdsourced the design of a product logo for Brammo, an electric motorcycle start-up. Criticism mostly focused on the high-end agency taking such a low-cost route, as well as its putting creative into the hands of outsiders when experts were not just available, but the very ones passing it off. For Brammo, crowdsourcing was more than just a way to stretch its budget. "We wanted to blur the line between [who works for Brammo] and [our] products," says Brian Wismann, the company's director of product development. "And it created its own buzz"...