# Ben James Returns to Crispin as Chief Creative Officer

> The legendary art director from Crispin's golden age comes back to help the struggling agency reclaim its creative edge.
- Title: Ben James Returns to Crispin as Chief Creative Officer
- Summary: The legendary art director from Crispin's golden age comes back to help the struggling agency reclaim its creative edge. Crispin is betting on institutional…
- Keywords: crispin, ben james, maggie malek, chief creative officer, stagwell, creative leadership, advertising agency, brand strategy, audience obsession, creative revival, Ben, James
- Source: Adweek — https://adweek.com/agencies/ben-james-boomerangs-back-to-crispin-as-cco
- Author: Christopher Cicchiello
- Published: 2026-09-24T10:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: crispin, ben james, maggie malek, chief creative officer, stagwell, creative leadership, advertising agency, brand strategy, audience obsession, creative revival
## Ben James returns as Crispin CCO
The art director who helped build Crispin in the early 2000s is back as chief creative officer after four years of advising CEO Maggie Malek informally.

> He was like, 'Why don't we just finally make it official?'
## Crispin's creative struggles since its peak
Once a dominant force in the 2000s, Crispin Porter Bogusky has struggled to reach creative heights. Stagwell acquired it in 2023 and merged it with four other agencies, shifting focus to creator and social-led work.
## James brings a newsroom model to creativity
James worked at The New York Times in 2019, an experience that shaped his always-on newsroom approach for Crispin's creative team. He also uses a method called chop up the algorithm, where creatives print inspiration from their personal feeds.

> I think the industry really needs models where we put audience obsession and the people at the front of what we're actually doing.
## Brand obsession drives James's strategy
James has built a reputation for deep brand immersion. He photographed DSW's shopping experience in detail and wants teams to study how brands appear in stores and online to create work that truly stops consumers.

> What is the immersive shopping experience actually like, so that we are creating things that stop you in the shopping aisle.
## Crispin's current clients and focus
The agency works with DSW, Target, and New Balance. It has a strong history in package design, recently creating packaging for Sticky Fingers and Nature's Sunshine aimed at stopping shoppers in the aisle.
## Building the next generation of leaders
Malek and James plan to develop their successors from within the team. Both believe Crispin's next CEO and CCO are already on staff and need mentoring to take over.

> We feel really strongly that the next CEO and CCO of Crispin are on our team.
## Key takeaway

Crispin is betting on institutional memory and audience obsession to rebuild its creative reputation after years of decline.