David Droga: how to become a world-renowned creative director at age 21? Bashny.Net

David Droga - another icon of the world of advertising. People who are familiar with how it works, is not surprised by the fact that it adorns the shelves of more than 40 Cannes Lions, a dozen awards and D & AD pencil Festival 23 One Show.



Shortly before his departure from the post of Worldwide Creative Director Publicis, he gathered all the most important titles and regalia, worthy to finish his career in network agencies. Becoming the best creative director according to AdAge and pick from Cannes award Global Agency of the Year in 2002, David left to float freely, organize their own agency Droga 5.

But the main issue of concern to all those who have devoted little of his biography:

"How did he manage to become the creative director at age 21?" .- Good luck. Circumstances. Naive ignorance. I knew nothing about the industry, about its structure and any required time frame that accompany a career in it. I looked at all wide-eyed when I started work. I was 18 and I've just finished the Australian School of Publicity, which was one of the best on the continent and which produced "fry" in the industry. I was among the brightest students and soon got a job in a boring multinational agency.

After a couple of months in this large "grid" I knew exactly what NOT want to do. Luckily one of the great creative people open their business and asked if I wanted to join his team. Of course, I wanted and was his first "mercenary." In total we had accumulated four. No classical representative offices. At first we did not even have desks. But we were young and no one bothered about the agendas and a lot of money.

I quickly grew, along with the agency. Somehow unnoticed, it has added "weight": instead of 4 were 50 employees. One of the founders decided to leave the advertising business. When he was gone, all the texts, mostly I wrote, and I was asked to become the creative director and share. I thought much about what it means. I really like the way it sounds.

That's how I became creative director.



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Many commit follies? According to your story, you gradually came to fame. Which of these three years, from 18 to 21, has been the most full of doubt and confusion? - I never counted himself not to gifted people did not consider himself better than anyone else. But one day I took a major decision - I will work hard as anyone else. I decided to do everything to pull out only the best ideas. I spent the night at the agency at least 2 times a week. My social life was in ruins.

What about her now? Nuu ... ruins, but a little different from those.

It's not a profession, in which all painted by the minute. Here you do not have a legal office, where you can know in advance what will happen with your career after 10 years, 15 and so on. You're as good as they say about you today. Every time you start all the same with a clean slate. And no matter how loud the sound your name. I decided that I would work very hard to jump over the possible imminent g ... but who sometimes sin our industry. I was not concerned with material matters. Success accompanied me in Australia and I could safely take one of the offers, which promised a lot of money, but I knew that, take me that course, it would have been an entirely different avenue, the one that I did not relish.

I just kept saying: work, work, work. They are constantly learning.

This went on for a while, but then we companions reached the point when they began to take themselves too seriously. Of course, they were already married by the time they were children, mortgages, home, and, of course, they were preoccupied with other things. And that's fine. But I was still young, angry and restless guy. And I did not want any responsibility. And when I felt that the agency sent to the mainstream, I decided to leave. The company bought BBDO, I took his share and left.









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Then you joined the team Saatchi? Yes. In Asia. I was not involved, and Asia - a great place. My sympathy for Neil Frenches put the final point in choosing a new job.

Neal was your mentor? Yes and no. I felt a tremendous sense of respect for him, but had never worked with him. He argued that geography does not matter. From any country, like Singapore, it could raise the global creative wave.

It was all very interesting, because it was based on money and not on population but on ideas. I stayed there for 2 and a half years, but they are equivalent 5-6 years of experience in any other place. Projects, really cool and scale. Our creative department was similar to the United Nations, all cared about most. I loved it because I was knocked out of the zone of quiet comfort. I liked that I was forced to pull back on the sofa and build a creative culture. It was she who gives birth to upscale the work.



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C Saatchi and their values ​​is clear. What about Publicis? What is this network? We need to look at its roots. This is a very European framework. She began to evolve from a small, but the sign of the boutique in France. This sopustvoval business success, and gradually began to buy the founders of all the major players. And at one point, they realized the necessity of finding his own handwriting in Creative.

As for me, one of the reasons I moved to the network (even though all around solid, "What are you doing, are you crazy" that only spurred me) became possible after the colossus Saatchi to work in any startup. An exciting prospect. This is a definite challenge. Although in reality, it does not matter how big the structure - most importantly, people. Dial 20 the right people to the network and you change it.

















You have long been a creative director. Did they change once its function, role in the recent years? I think so.

My transformation from copywriter art director was very interesting, because I was one of the most selfish people in the world. I could not work together with the art director, I lead up all the ideas himself. Jobs became the creative director of a surprise for me. I started getting buzz as much, if not more, when my creatives "giving birth" brilliant ideas. I could see and feel in their work, and for that I did not have to write something.

Gone are the days when the CD was awesome force, forcing his team to tremble as he sat at the end of the corridor behind closed doors and simply saying "yes" or "no." Now this work is more than just set the standards and confirm that this project was completed well enough for the level specified by the Agency. Now the important spirit of the place, which is to create the head of the creative department. A lot of creative directors are torn between "I want to be the creative director" and "but I also want to make very remarkable examples of advertising." This is madness. I knew when I was working in Singapore and London, which in my department are working and more successful people than I am. So what? If everything goes as it should, and it will affect you. I do not bother myself with the thought that my name was supposed to be at a particular job.

Best creative director, in my view, is one that no pressure on his team, and allows it to be just a creative team.


Well, you're in the hall of fame. What do you feel when you find yourself in it? This is another burden. It's cool when you get recognition. I still get nervous every time I praise. And I am very grateful for the respect. But at the same time, I force myself to be above this. When I went to Singapore, my mission was simple - to get Saatchi London. We have coped with it, and the British office invited me to work.

In London, I was one of the first expats, and I had a very cool reception. "Who is this 29-year-old Australian from Singapore? What the hell is he doing in our market? ". And it made me think: "Okay. Shut up and do your job. Show them what they are capable foreigners ».

Something similar happened, and when I was in Publicis. Although the conditions were exactly the opposite. The American press has accepted me with open arms. And though it's a different meeting, she called me the same reaction: "Shut up and play, showing the results».

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