What Defines a Thought Leader?

For the last 2 weeks I have been borderline obsessed with reading and learning everything I can on Alex Bogusky. For 21+ years Alex has created many groundbreaking campaigns including the Subservient Chicken, the Hulu campaigns (with Alec Baldwin) and the tremendous work he has done in re-invigorating the brands (and bottom lines) of Burger King (see video above) and Domino’s Pizza.

As of July 1, 2010 Alex has officially stepped down as co-chair of Crispin Porter + Bogusky in order to pursue a life outside of advertising. Now there are a plethora of amazing blog post summarizing the times and (ad) life of Alex, but for a really thorough and heartfelt recap I would recommend reading Anthony Kalamut’s post entitled “Employee Number 16 Resigns. The Day Alex Bogusky Said Good-Bye To CP+B, MDC and Advertising”

There is so much that inspires me about Alex and I could easily write an entire blog post, or a series for that matter on his impact on my career and life, which is amplified when you consider I only started studying his work in the past month. Instead, I will leave that adventure for another time, perhaps when it isn’t 3:13am. :)

What I will say is this; for me the true sign of a thought leader is someone who can demonstrate an alternative way of doing something that eventually forces you to reevaluate the way you perceive the world. This is precisely what Alex has done for me. His bold work elicits great excitement from within me and almost re-calibrates my standards and forces me to aim higher. What else can you ask from a guy that you have never actually met before?

Alex, you will be missed my friend.