David Kolbusz reflects on Droga5 London tenure—see his greatest hits
Agency's CCO departing for an undisclosed venture leaves behind a body of entertaining off-kilter work for categories across automotive, beer, banking, fashion, food, tech and more.
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Droga5 London chief creative officer David Kolbusz confirmed this week that he will be departing the Accenture Interactive-owned agency to join an undisclosed venture in the U.S.
Kolbusz joined the U.K. agency in 2015, when the office had been in need of a reboot following the departures of CEO Kevin Dundas and Chief Creative Officer Nik Studzinski. Under his leadership, the agency debuted attention-getting campaigns for brands including Amazon, Barclaycard, Uniqlo, Rustlers, Diet Coke and Brewdog among others. The agency has yet to announce his replacement.
"The whole Droga experience was a great one from start to finish,” Kolbusz told Ad Age. “Naturally every job has its ups and downs but there wasn't a moment I didn't feel supported or championed. I was reticent at first because when people are trying to hire you they typically tell you what you want to hear and then backtrack later when the promises prove inconvenient. [Founder David] Droga delivered on every promise he made.”
Kolbusz’s career has seen him zigzagging across the Atlantic. Born in Canada, he began advertising at TBWA\Toronto and later joined Mother London as a creative. He then returned to North America to join Goodby, Silverstein & Partners as group creative director before returning to the U.K. to join BBH London, where he last served as deputy executive creative director. There, he had made waves on celebrated work such as the “Three Little Pigs” ad for The Guardian and Axe/Unilever’s “Peace” and “Apollo” campaigns. His last stop before Droga5 was at Wieden+Kennedy, which had tapped him to lead its New York office as executive creative director alongside Jaime Robinson, now co-founder and CCO at Joan.
At Droga5, Kolbusz is credited for making campaigns that defied the norms of their respective categories, marked by a skewed sensibility and often filled with off-kilter humor.
When he had joined, the work Droga5 "was famous for was quite different from the type I typically made or shepherded, and [Droga] told me he didn't want a carbon copy,” Kolbusz said. “Throughout my tenure there he delighted in everything we made. He gave us the space to succeed and the freedom to fail. He didn't mind that the work wasn't fashionable, as long as it was good.”
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Outside of the work, Kolbusz said he’s proud of the team he built in London. “The other thing I made sure of while we were building Droga5 London is that everyone who came through the doors didn't just have talent, but they had taste too,” he said. “Every discipline, irrespective of their charge, needed to be creative or at least have an understanding of creativity. In so doing, I leave behind a building full of brilliant souls who will go on to do great work without me. I'm excited to see where they go from here."
Here, we take a look back at some of Kolbusz’ best moves at Droga5 London.
The agency’s campaigns for convenience food company Rustlers included a “misery memoir” chronicling the lifelong suffering of an elderly man who finally finds joy when he chows down on one of the brand’s burgers.
Speaking of arthouse, Droga5 London created the haunting “Nimic” fim for Mini. Directed by “The Favourite” helmer Yorgos Lanthimos, it starred Matt Dillon as a troubled cellist.
The agency’s work for Barclaycard added a fresh weirdness to the brand’s legacy of humorous work. Droga5 London’s first campaign for the company profiled its first work, from 2019 campaign profiled a wacky but real crystal company.
Kolbusz was also known to step into the director’s chair from time to time and directed a Barclaycard ad about a restaurant owner who recalls the moment Helena Bonham-Carter stepped into his establishment.
For Uniqlo, Droga5 London teamed with musician and artist Solange Knowles on “Metratonia,” a performance piece at L.A.’s Hammer Museum.
A campaign for app subscription service Setapp illustrated the perils of getting distracted with ludicrous scenarios including one about a man whose therapist hypnotizes him into becoming a snake.
The agency’s Diet Coke ad from last year, directed by Autumn de Wilde, put a stylish, seductive spin on the brand’s classic “Just for the Taste of It” theme with the help of Grammy-winning artist Thundercat.
On a more intoxicating front, an ad for Brewdog touting the brand’s environmental cred welcomed all kinds of beer drinkers, including those who preferred Heineken.
