shots 20th: 2006 - Droga5: the new kids on the block

Their ‘Still Free’ viral campaign for Ecko sent David Droga’s creative start-up Droga5 to the top of the advertising pile. Isobel Roberts salutes an adman with 360º vision

It was mid-April 2006 when reports began reaching news agencies that a major breach of presidential security had occurred. The offence?

A graffiti ambush on Air Force One. And the evidence? A grainy film leaked to a few sources which showed the crime in action, as two trespassers scaled fences, dodged security, and tagged ‘Still Free’ on the jet. But rather than a critical security failure, this was instead a public hoax masterminded by Droga5 for urban clothing brand Ecko Unlimited – and one that catapulted it into the advertising spotlight.

The first job out the door of David Droga’s start-up, the Still Free exploit created a media furore and spread like wildfire across the web.

And the stunt was a proven advertising success.

While the Pentagon had to deny three times that it was real, in the ad world the hoax went on to win the Cyber Grand Prix at Cannes and a throng of other accolades. It also put the newly birthed Droga5 firmly on the industry’s radar.

“It thrust us in the limelight which was great, but internally it also proved a point that you’ve got to go for what you think is honestly the right thing,” Droga remembers. “There’d be a million reasons why not to do a project like that and that’s not how we start out.” Instead, the team took the plunge, and combined Ecko’s graffiti heritage with the paranoia of post-9/11 national insecurity.

Droga set up his New York-based hotshop in 2006 after a high-flying career in the networks.

Having moved from his native Australia to head up Saatchi & Saatchi in Singapore, in 2002 he oversaw a successful stint leading the London arm of the agency, and then a year later jetted across the pond to NYC to take over the worldwide chief creative officer job at Publicis.

“That taught me the business of advertising, while London taught me the craft and impact, and Singapore injected the work ethic,” he says.

“But I felt at the heart of who I am is a creative guy, and as challenging as the worldwide gig was I was so far removed from actually influencing the product and I wanted to get back into that.”

Running his own joint has allowed Droga to craft a distinctive DNA for the agency, and in 2008 he spread that mould to the southern hemisphere by opening up Droga5 Sydney. Clients who’ve signed up for his Midas touch so far include sportswear brand Puma, gaming giant Activision and mobile network Net10. Plus, the agency has collaborated on an array of social schemes too. Their Tap Project for UNICEF raised cash by asking restaurant diners to donate $1 for tap water, while the Million Project for the New York City Department of Education used phone credit to incentivise school kids to get good grades, and won a Titanium Lion at Cannes in 2008. Droga5 were also a vital limb in the Obama campaign’s marketing machinery, with their Great Schlep film starring Sarah Silverman.

“Working with social projects is a deliberate thing and we’re not trying to pretend that we’re worthier than anyone else,” explains Droga, “but we only want to work with brands that we think contribute positively to either the category they’re in or the community at large. I want to work with clients that are adding something or shaping the world, or pop culture, or behaviour. We’re creative people and we just want to create things that have impact and are less disposable.”

The agency’s outlook on content is another central part of its formula for success. It’s that new holy grail of communications – stuff that the audience actually wants to engage with – that Droga is on the prowl for. “In the ad industry now we’re narrators and curators at the same time, and I want to make stuff the general public is sincerely interested in and that actually resonates with people’s lives, and that can be for brands or causes. And then they can also do some of the heavy lifting for you.”

Droga5 reaches its fourth birthday in April, and for a relative youngster the agency already has more success and awards under its belt than most agencies could dream of. It’s not all been plain sailing – the Publicis-backed Honeyshed venture launched in partnership with Smuggler, which was set to revolutionise online shopping, failed to meet expectations – but, as Droga concludes, it’s about moving onwards and upwards: “We’ve still got a long way to go.

Sometimes we’re spinning forward and sometimes we’re falling forwards but that’s good.

I just want to try and shape as much I can and I want our creatives to have some influence. I’m not trying to change advertising, I’m trying to change my advertising, and I want to do more work we’re incredibly proud of and put a bit more respect back for the industry.”

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