Rick Dodds and Steve Howell, creative directors at Droga5 New York, have been promoted to executive creative directors at the agency’s London office. In their new leadership roles, Dodds and Howell will report to chief creative officer David Kolbusz.
Dodds and Howell have been creative partners for nearly 13 years, having first teamed at Buckinghamshire New University before beginning their professional careers together at Saatchi & Saatchi London where they turned out work for clients including Guinness, Visa and Weight Watchers, most notably creating T-Mobile’s “Dance,” “Sing-Along” and “Welcome Back (Heathrow)” campaigns. During their first tenure in the U.K., Dodds and Howell won 15 Cannes Lions, as well as the BTAA Grand Prix in both 2010 and 2011.
Seven years at Saatchi led to Dodds and Howell joining Droga5 NY in 2012 as art director and copywriter, respectively. They created campaigns for brand such as Puma, Under Armour, NRG, NYCFC and Strongbow Hard Cider. Dodds and Howell were appointed creative directors in 2013.
Following what was supposed to be a brief stint at Droga5 London, Dodds and Howell have decided to make a permanent move to their native England to work across the agency’s client roster and new business initiatives. The creative duo has most recently produced work for Hobbs’ “Make an Understatement” campaign, and they are currently working on Vita Coca, Radox, Impulse, Belstaff and Rustlers.
Howell noted, “Not many people get the chance to help run a creative department in London. And even fewer get the chance to run one with the name Droga5 above the door. We know how lucky we are and recognize the incredible responsibility and opportunity we have to make this agency as great as we know it can be.”
