Mid-afternoon on the first day of judging and the ADFEST Grand Jury President had been talking all day. You might think Ted Royer would be reticent about doing an impromptu interview. He’s not. Royer’s enthusiasm for the industry is palpable.
In 2014, Tor Myhren gave the region’s creativity a less than perfect report card. And three years later…?
I can only really go on the work that I’ve prejudged but I was very encouraged by what I saw. I thought some of the Innovation stuff was pretty cool and technologically, the agencies seem pretty forward thinking. The little bit of film I’ve seen so far is pretty good too. So I’m optimistic. I hope it turns out to be as good as I want it to be.
What creative method do you use to get the best work from your teams?
We have no set method really. We approach problems in whatever way they need to be approached. Right at the start, we think as big as we can and get deeply strategic. Then, hopefully, we make something that works and is unique. We like brands that have a point of view in the world. The last thing we want to offer is something that’s not relevant.
What did you bring with you from O&M and Publicis to make Droga5 excel?
You know, some of what I learned in big agencies might, in fact, be what not to do. What not to do is really what I brought with me. The top has to believe in great creative or it doesn't happen. We’re founded and run by David Droga. He’s ambitious. He’s creative and he wants to do what’s new. We don't make decisions based on fear like some others. We don't hold onto what we have. We like to be adventurous. We like to go into new territory. We have great partners and great leaders and we’re all on the same mission.
According to Havas Group’s recent survey, 60% of all content created by brands is “poor, irrelevant or fails to deliver.”
I think that’s probably true. 60%? Seems like the industry has changed for the better. I think if you'd asked that question when I started, the answer would have been 98%. OK, people hate advertising – and there’s not a day goes by where some new technology is invented to avoid what we do. Why is that? Because ads are, for the most part, annoying. They yell at us. They try to cajole us. They try to make us feel guilty. But great agencies exist to try and shake up the game of advertising.
What trends in advertising and marketing do you see on the road ahead?
I’m actually going to talk about that during the ADFEST festival. Advertising is desperate. It wants to be liked. It pleads to you. But what if, in the future, brands were cooler? What if they didn't beg? What if they were OK to say, “Maybe we're not for everyone?” What if they followed the rules of attraction in the real world? What if they skipped the deals, skipped the free stuff and learned how to be attractive to real people using the real laws of actual attraction? That’s what I’m wondering.
- Story by Candide McDonald
- Video directed by Miles Cooper; reporting by Anika Ali; production by Scott Dali
