Droga5: Delivering Rich Creativity Throughout A Year Of Change

2024 has been a notable year for Droga5 London, marked by changes on the management team and a series of bold campaigns that have reinforced the agency’s position as a creative powerhouse.

Undoubtedly a step-change came in the summer when Shelley Smoler and Damien Le Castrec departed, creating space for a new bench of creative and strategic leadership. CEO Bill Scott swiftly appointed Tamara Conyngham as head of strategy and 2025 will see a series of big hires to work alongside Scott, taking the business to the next level.

Amid the changes, the agency didn't miss a beat with its work, continuing to deliver visually strong campaigns - including its debut for Japanese soft drink brand -196.

We spoke with CEO Bill Scott to reflect on Droga5 London’s achievements in 2024.

Bill Scott, Droga5's CEO, on his agency's year

What have been the major highlights for your business in 2024?

There is no doubt that 2024 has been a year of transition for Droga5 London as we embark on a new chapter for 2025 - as we welcome the new appointments of the global Droga5 C-Suite, Mark Green, Pelle Sjoenell and Emma Montgomery. And we expect to announce new D5London leadership appointments for a new CCO and CSO in early 2025.

It’s been one of our busiest years in terms of output - probably the largest scale highlight being the launch of Qiddiya City, the world’s first city dedicated to play. This award-winning global work included seven campaigns shot in six months, working with Ian Pons Jewell, Steve Ayson, Daniel Wolfe and Dan Streit. It comprised launches of the city, the Mohammed bin Salman Stadium which was a key venue for the Fifa World Cup, a brand new Formula One track, and the nation’s biggest performing arts and cultural centre. It was recognised as the best campaign for Saudi development at the Athar Awards.

For the UK launch of Suntory’s alcoholic drink brand -196, we created our “Method in the minus” campaign - featuring a Japanese scientist explaining the method of how -196 is made when he is interrupted by a giant antagonistic citrus fruit, the Lemon Man, who turns his speech into an energetic DJ session - with anthemic dance to match.

On April Fool’s Day, the #NotAprilFools campaign for women’s health charity Sister Circle highlighted the shocking statistics around maternal death rates and poor outcomes for pregnant women of colour in the UK.

This year also saw us poke fun at over-the-top coffee culture in a spot for Philips’s new espresso machine, as well as launching JP Morgan Chase’s new brand campaign ‘See What Your Money Can Do’ with Director Gary Freedman -  our second campaign after launching the bank in the UK in 2020. 

What is your proudest achievement from the last 12 months?

We’re blessed with a world class design department at D5 - which has seen remarkable growth, evolving into a standalone offering that’s attracting its own diverse clients and a variety of project types—from full-scale campaigns to brand design & system thinking.

Notable highlights this year include:

• McLaren’s W1 Logo: We designed McLaren's new logo for the W1, launched in October.

• Royal Enfield Campaign: For the launch of the Bear 650, we created the “In Gut We Trust” campaign, which includes a 75” film, 8 key visuals, and 33 editorial images consolidated into a launch brochure, all shot by photographer and director Elliot James Kennedy.

• Visible Voices Partnership: In collaboration with Visible Voices, we developed and launched a brand that redefines accessible design.

• Everland: We also won ADM’s pet food brand, Everland, with work set to launch in early 2025.

What are you most looking forward to next year?

The start of the next chapter, with our new leadership lineup and new global leadership team in place. Next year will see the relaunch of Droga5 both internationally and in the UK market. We’ve also got an exciting pipeline of new work in the making.

What do you feel have been the greatest industry challenges for agencies this year and why?

Pivoting from a period of uncertainty to new found confidence.  Although there is more confidence and robustness in the market vs last year - clients are still having to go through wholesale review & reinvention of their marketing spends. This inevitably has led to pressure and uncertainty on budgets - creating a range of difficult outcomes for agencies to manage - be it project delays, refocus, tougher deadlines, a suppression on collective ambition - all of which can take its toll on the agency business performance, its talent and the creative product. 

Has the addition of any AI solution made the profound impact on your business that was expected? If so – what?

D5, being part of Accenture Song, is fortuitously placed to benefit from the considerable investment Accenture Song has made into GenAI - with new proprietary tools and partnerships now in place. New use cases and applications are really coming to fruition now - which enables D5 to draw on these for our clients. Feels like 2025 will be the stepchange year for these to be deployed - be in in production, workflows or campaign development and evaluation. 

Creative Salon on Droga5 London’s 2024

Creative boldness remains at the heart of Droga5 London, and this year the agency’s projects reached even greater heights as it continued to challenge conventions under the leadership of CEO Bill Scott and managing director Heather Cuss.

The agency saw key leadership shifts this year. With former CCO Shelley Smoler and CSO Damien Le Castrec departing to join Lucky Generals and head of strategy Aaron Harridge moving to McCann London, Droga5 welcomed Tamara Conyngham to replace Harridge, adding a fresh dynamic to its direction. Top class hires are promised in early 2025 to complete the line-up.

That said, the agency didn't seem to miss a beat through these changes . Droga5 kicked off the year with its 'Play Life' campaign for Qiddiya, the world’s first “city of play” under construction near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Breaking from the typical CGI-heavy gigacity ads, 'Play Life' delivered human-centric, fun narratives that brought Qiddiya’s vision to life in a refreshing, relatable way. This campaign earned Droga5 a coveted shortlist spot at Cannes in the Travel, Leisure, Retail and Fast Food category, a recognition of the agency's creativity on a global stage.

Meanwhile, the agency took a humorous dive into coffee culture for Philips. The 'Join the New Coffee Movement' campaign launched the no-nonsense Baristina espresso machine, poking fun at coffee snobbery and encouraging consumers to embrace simplicity with a wink.

Advocacy also played a crucial role in Droga5's portfolio this year. The agency teamed up with Sister Circle once again following last year’s rebrand of the women’s health charity. The '#NotAprilFools' campaign highlighted shocking facts about women’s health in the UK with a tone meant to surprise and resonate deeply, urging audiences to confront often-overlooked issues.

Droga5’s irreverent approach shone in its TikTok-first 'Right Side of Hustle' campaign for Barclaycard, where a faux influencer named Max humorously embodied the “pro-hustle” mindset, promoting a healthier work-life balance for small businesses. The agency also brought humour and cultural authenticity to -196, a Japanese RTD brand, with a quirky narrative of a scientist sparring with a giant lemon, celebrating the brand’s unique production process and heritage.

Creative Salon says: Droga5 London has proven once again that it can lead with both boldness and intelligence, creating campaigns that resonate on a human level while elevating each client’s brand story. Under the combined leadership of Scott and Cuss the agency continues to set an inspiring standard for the industry. With its management line-up due to be completed in early 2025, a new fire will be set under the business and we can expect even more sparks from this rich creative culture.