Five minutes with ... David Droga

Droga5 chief David Droga paused in between jet lag and snaffling a bite to eat during a recent trip to En Zed to answer some of life’s harder questions, such as why 95% of advertising is just “pollution”.

Are you now in the enviable position of being able to turn down a lot of work?
We’ve turned down a lot of stuff, but not through arrogance at all. We’re just trying to foster a culture and a brand – and I don’t want to be defined or use our ability and our thinking to sell stuff I don’t believe in. I know that sounds high and mighty but it’s not meant to be. There’s a little cockiness in that but I also believe there’s enough really good brands and products out there that we can be choosy. It’s hard for me to talk about our principles as a place if we’re selling garbage to people.

What sort of brands have you turned away?
We turned down a fast food chain two weeks ago. My CFO’s head almost exploded. But I felt so good about saying that for the right reasons. Our first brand that wanted to work with us was a pornographic magazine. It was a hilarious meeting but I knew I didn’t want to build our office on that. I’m not judgmental of anyone or what they do. But there’s a disconnect there – I won’t put my money into that client’s pocket but I’m willing to take their money? I want us to grow the right way not just for the sake of it.

Why open up an office in New Zealand?
For me it’s all about people. My ego doesn’t need to open up multiple offices around the world to have them on the letterhead. I just want them to be really good people. I knew Mike and I knew of Rocky and the chance to work with them was brilliant. So I’m interested in what they can do in New Zealand but also what they can contribute to Australia and New York. They’re just getting their feet under the table here but they’re already working on stuff in New York on global brands. I wouldn’t open an office just because a client wanted us to go there.

What was the lightbulb moment when you decided that advertising was your future?
I was a daydreamer and suddenly I realized, I could make money out of being a daydreamer. So I started to think about which industries would that be a benefit rather than something that can get you into trouble. I just wanted to do something where I could do writing and I was taken by the idea that advertising was the struggle between commerce and creativity. You get to be creative with other people’s money and you get to see it manifest itself.

How would you describe or define yourself as a creative?
That’s a good question, I’ve never thought of that. I’m obsessive and also keep things very simple. I’m driven by the emotions of creativity, not just creativity for the sake of it. I always like to look at the ramifications of creativity – what it makes you feel and think. I more like to see the effect of what it can do – not just that something’s weird or odd or different or funny or colourful. It’s creativity with a purpose if you like.

And as a boss?
I kind of bluff the whole management stuff. That sounds ignorant! But I genuinely think I’m consistent and fair. I don’t think I changed in personality when I became a boss. I definitely like being a leader. I have a high standard of stuff I like. I try to motivate people by inspiring them rather than by fear. If I have high expectations of people who work for me, they have to have high expectations of me and I have to live up to that as well. It’s not a one-way thing at all.

Are you very competitive?
Obscenely. I’m the youngest of five boys. I’m not competitive in a ruthless way, but I am obscenely competitive about anything. If we had a competition about who could spin a bottle top, I’d want to win that. It’s ridiculous, it’s such a flaw of mine that I actually love.