Mike O and Rocky to set up Droga5 New Zealand?
CBcan reveal that former Saatchi & Saatchi, Auckland ECD Mike O’Sullivan and CEO Andrew’Rocky’ Stone’s options continue to widen, including possibly settingup Droga5 New Zealand.
Mike O and Dave Droga (Droga5’s founder andcreative chairman – pictured above right) have been mates for years and it would be a good fit within the Droga5 family, which also includes Droga5 Australia.
CB hears the possible deal comes after other options were considered,including setting up a Fallon office with Saatchi & Saatchi’sbacking and their own O’Sullivan Stone start-up, backed by a smallerpublicly listed agency group.
Emails and txts to Dave Droga went unanswered last night. Whencontacted by CB this morning, Stone categorically denied any deal wasdone and said he and O’Sullivan were still enjoying their break,catching some good fish and distracted at the moment by the Boat Showopening in Auckland today.
However, CB bets they are indeed opening Droga5 New Zealand, starting within a month.
47 Comments
Holy fucking shit.
No way that is true.
Good one boys – NZ could do with an alternative to the multi-nationals.
Good luck.
What a mismatch
Where there’s smoke there’s fire….
I don’t know the NZ market but given their experience and no doubt client contacts why wouldn’t they start their own place?
Onya Mike & Rocky, after taking Saatchi to a great new level you deserve to kick multu-national arse! You guys rock!
“kicking multi-national arse” might not be entirely accurate given the suggestion here that the venture would be bankrolled by one such multi-national. Droga5 is heavily funded by publicis or someone or other no? Isn’t it just the BIG agencies fingering every conceivable pie, while maintaining a facade that there is genuine competition?
Don’t get me wrong, good luck to the chaps. I suspect they just continue doing good work as they have been in NZ, but now they’ll just get a proper share of the profit.
I’d work for them just to say I worked for D5
nobby and mike o….interesting wwf match up!!!
Why?
If you were going to leave a cushy job why wouldn’t you do your own thing with your name on the door
“Good one boys – NZ could do with an alternative to the multi-nationals.
Good luck.”
The facade continues. Everyone knows that Droga5 is backed by Publicis.
There’s an interesting story about their ‘departure’ from Saatchi and one of their big clients, but I won’t Tel.
With Mr Maddocks?
Aaaah, censorship on the blog. Gotta love it.
12.08pm, would that ‘great new level’ be purgatory?
Droga5 is not owned by Publicis, 12:25. It is completely independent.
Amazing.
probably BS but would be amazing.
2:40pm, think a bit lower with a lot more fire.
Oh come on 2:06 spill the beans you have to tell us now!! :'(
Who’s this?
David Droga?
Never heard of him.
Actually 3:01 I’m afraid you’re incorrect. Publicis does actually have a minority share in Droga5. Sorry to be shithead but I decided to look it up.
I don’t know exactly what that means for these three extremely rich people but I thought I’d just, YA’KNOW, chuck it in since everyone else is having a bit of a web-orgy.
Publicis only had a deal with Droga5 over Honeyshed.
Droga5 itself is independent – where did you look it up?
They have two arms & legs like the rest of us. Why worship them as gods? It’s only advertising. If we must wallow, what’s the latest on Jay’s (doomed) attempt to rev up Grey Sydney? What’s with the latest Ambi Pur tvc? It looks like it came out of somewhere truly awful, like McCanns.
(actually 4.17 & 4.32)
http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/droga-to-set-up-shop-back-home/2007/09/19/1189881594355.html
Oh come on – Ambi Pur, get into it!
That’s Paul McIntyres work – so I would double check the facts…
Serious question: Does Droga5 do any work for Toyota internationally? Hmmm?
5:08.
You’re a waste of good tucker.
9:18pm what exactly does that mean?
big news if true.
Can two ego’s as big as Nobby and Mike O work together?
5:08 you’re a waste of testicles.
I’m a c@#t, 10:20, so what do you say now, psycophant?
From a NY Times article on the Tap project:
“… helped the United States Fund for Unicef recruit other shops to collaborate with Droga5, part of the Publicis Groupe, on an expanded version of the campaign for 2008.”
http://www.droga5.com/hostedArticles/nyTimesTap/
If that was published in the NY Times and it was untrue, you can bet both Publicis and Droga5 would have got it corrected pretty quick.
The latest ambi pur ad is an international ad….if you worked with any sense of decorum or had any knowledge or experience everyone has to run crap internationally stipulated ads.
you knob.
i think jaygrey are doing very good work….perhaps you should check out their website ya dill.
5.08….now 2.12
i think you described yourself perfectly….
ambi is an INTERNATIONAL AD you newb….they had no choice….
Thanks to all of you who took the bait. Such youthful anger and indignation! Gee this is fun.
c’mon what about the Telecom rumor?
“taking Saatchi to a great new level” Is this person aware of just where they took the place over the past 18 months?
KR is CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi.
KR is on the board of Telecom, the largest single account in Australasia.
KR visits NZ.
Saatchi won’t loose the Telecom account.
Saatchi is pawned
Given Publicis also owns S&S – are they really going to work for someone different? Is this all just about creating another offering under a different name.
I can see the release now, the usual “nimble ideas shop unburdoned by the constraints of a traditional agency model” blah blah.
NZ already has a great indie culture… check out Special, Sugar, Consortium, etc.
Nevertheless, D5 in NZ… that’s frickin’ great news.
Good luck Mike!
11:05
Loads of companies do it – who owns monteiths? who owns squires?
11.05am Let’s just set the record straight once and for all.
Droga5 is an independent agency and always has been.
It was reported in the early years as part of Publicis because lazy editors didn’t check their facts.They assumed because Publicis were funding HoneyShed, they were also funding Droga5.
When in reality, they were totally separate companies. One in NY and one in LA.
HoneyShed was a joint venture between Publicis and Droga5.
Last year at the annual Cannes cocktail party, Levy even made a joke about it.
He said, “I wish I had of funded the other Droga company.”
Check the Publicis website. They list all their companies majority and minority stakes. No mention.
Done. move on.
Good luck Mike. I hope it’s true.
12:26 has it exactly right. Droga5 is completely independent.