Droga5 founder + creative chairman David Droga inducted into Art Directors Club Hall of Fame
The
Art Directors Club, the first global creative collective of its kind
and longest standing organisation championing the visual arts, tonight inducted Aussie expat David Droga (far left), founder and creative chairman of Droga
5, into the prestigious ADC Hall of Fame.The new group of laureates, representing advertising, design, filmmaking, illustration, photography and education, were inducted at a creative black-tie benefit gala held tonight for the first time during Advertising Week in New York, attended by Campaign Brief.
VIEW CB VIDEO OF DROGA'S ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
Droga joins the pantheon of greats inducted since 1972, including Bill Bernbach, Leo Burnett, George Lois, Bob Gage, Paul Rand, Ed McCabe, Saul Bass, Herb Lubalin, Milton Glazer, Helmut Krone, Sam Scali, Art Kane, Roy Grace, Arthur Paul, Lee Clow, Bob Gill, Bob Giraldi, Andy Warhol and Annie Leibovitz.
Droga (pictured below by CB tonight with US creative heavyweights Gerry Graf
and Susan Credle) is by far the youngest person ever inducted into Hall
of Fame, a
testament to his brilliant achievements packed into a short 25 year
career to date, who started as the mailroom boy at Grey Advertising,
Sydney in 1987. That same year he signed up to AWARD School, came top nationally and was immediately offered a job at FCB. After just two months, he was poached by the legendary start-up, Omon, where he made his creative rep before snaring the ECD role at Saatchi & Saatchi, Singapore, followed by the SE Asia regional role. He then went on to the ECD gig at Saatchi's London, then the worldwide ECD role at Publicis, then started Droga5 - and the rest, as they say, is history.
Apart from Droga, the ADC Hall of Fame laureates for 2012 were:
• Barry Blitt, illustrator (top centre)
• Mary Ellen Mark, photographer (top second from left)
• Kevin O'Callaghan (Educator Award), SVA 3D Design Chair (top right)
• Deborah Sussman, Principal and Founder, Sussman/Prejza
Ad legends there tonight included the great George Lois (left), who actually designed the beautiful ADC Hall of Fame award (below) back in 1971.
Says Ignacio Oreamuno, ADC executive director: "Walt Disney, Annie Leibovitz, Andy Warhol, Lee Clow, Dan Wieden, Jay Chiat, Alex Bogusky - all incredible legends in our Hall of Fame, who have dramatically altered the industry we work in. This year marks the 92nd year of the Art Directors Club and our Hall of Fame continues to grow with advertisers, designers, educators, artists, photographers and illustrators whose work is quite simply jaw-dropping. This year's Hall of Fame exhibit was our most impressive to date, anyone that attended left both humbled and inspired."
Says
Bob Giraldi, film director and owner, Giraldi Media; chair, Live Action
Short Film Graduate Department, School of Visual Arts, on Droga: "In the long
history of ad agency brilliance-successful writers and outrageously
distinctive art directors have ruled the land. And now, add the name;
David Droga, to that list as this truly independent and innovative
agency thinker rightfully takes his place as one of the creative
geniuses of the modern marketing world."Droga's wife Marissa was there to share in the big moment, together with son Finn (pictured below). As were the key execs from Droga5 including Ted Royer (above left) as well as friend Patsy Peacock (left), chairman of FBI Recruitment.
Good on him
But he's a writer.
Holy shit. I remember when he won Award School. (Dates me) He has been extraordinary since the beginning. Well done, everyone has always been proud and jealous of you. Legend.
Congrats David!
Congratulations David. You have certainly earned it. It's a long way from your AWARD School graduation win and you stand as inspiration for all AWARD School students, past, present and future as to what can be achieved.