The Monkeys Reflects on 18 Years of “Poise and Intellect”, “Popping and Locking” As Droga5 Rebadge Takes Effect

18 years after they gathered around a trestle table to turn a wild idea into an agency, Mark Green, Scott Nowell, and Justin Drape have said goodbye and thank you to The Monkeys, whose name is now retired.

The agency’s rebadging to Droga5, first flagged in August when co-founder Mark moved to New York to become Droga5’s global CEO, takes effect today, 18 years after Mark, Scott Nowell, and Justin Drape set up shop. They called their business Three Drunk Monkeys, and “began to convince big name brands to trust their new provocative way of thinking”, marrying advertising, entertainment, and technology.

“Some folks close to us argued that naming the agency Three Drunk Monkeys was an act of nihilistic lunacy,” Justin, who left the business in 2021 to found travel and creative start-up Exceptional Alien, says, “but we couldn’t expect clients to be brave and trust their instincts if we weren’t willing to trust our own.”

During the early years, Three Drunk Monkeys worked with brands like Foxtel, Parmalat, and Blackmores; created TV shows including SBS’ My Family Feast (2009) and The Comedy Channel’s satirical adland series 30-Seconds (2009, commissioned by Andrew Denton). In those heady days, Scott coined the now-prolific term ‘EOFYS’ (end of financial year sale).

Droga5’s AUNZ CEO Matt Michael, who stepped up alongside Bronwyn van der Merwe (AUNZ Accenture Song lead) to fill the vacancy left by Mark, tells LBB the name-shift won’t disrupt the company’s entrepreneurial spirit, which has been kept alive since 2006.

Global boss Mark agrees, noting, “we have always wanted to make sure that our people feel like they can make the best work of their careers at The Monkeys. And this has been the case for many years.

“Now, with the transition to Droga5, they can also have the confidence that their best work is also ahead of them. And, I am excited to lead the team into this new era.”

Matt joined in 2011, the same year the agency rebranded from “the slightly less classic and client friendly” Three Drunk Monkeys. 

“It was never the name that defined the place, it was the people,” Scott observes. “Those incredible people will now define what the next chapter looks like too.”

Matt’s favourite Monkeys memories centre around the people, telling LBB the stand-outs range from “watching Fabio [Buresti, Accenture Song’s AUNZ design lead and previously The Monkeys’ CSO] answer the curliest question a client has ever asked us in a pitch with poise and intellect, or Scott popping and locking on a dance floor, or any one of the many times I’ve stood in awe as one of the team delivers something so impactful for a client all you can do is look on in pride. 

“The Monkeys has always been made by the incredible talent and quality of genuinely good people that are part of it and the times we’ve all shared will always remain the best memories.”

In 2013, The Monkeys’ brought design agency Maud into the fold, led by CCO David Park and counting David Jones, the University of Sydney, and UBank among its clients. Two years later, the business moved into a new Sydney office space on Surry Hills’ South Dowling Street.

Jump ahead another two years to 2017, and the founders sold the business to Accenture Interactive, which itself rebadged in 2022 to Accenture Song (the Droga5 sale went through two years later, in 2019). According to the agency, “the acquisition bolstered Accenture Song’s full suite of digital customer transformation services and dramatically enhanced The Monkeys’ ability to connect brand strategy and creative all the way through to customer experience.”

That year, the agency expanded to Melbourne; its first creative account was Holden SUV. Six months later, it won Asahi, then CrownBet and Australia Post. It opened a physical office, and hired one of the country’s best creatives Ant Keogh, plus CEO Paul McMillan, and planning director Michael Derepas. The trio left Clems Melbourne to head up The Monkeys’ Melbourne operations; in October, LBB revealed their next big move: Ant, Paul, and Michael are following in the footsteps of Mark, Scott, and Justin and launching their own agency.

The Monkeys’ next market expansion came in 2021, when the agency poached DDB Group Aotearoa’s CEO Justin Mowday and CCO Damon Stapleton to set up a New Zealand office with foundation client ABS. Storm Day, who began as chief business officer, was promoted to CEO of Droga5 New Zealand last month. She told LBB she’ll focus on trust and purpose in her new role to close the 71% gap between a brand’s promise and a customer’s experience.

In 2021, Tara Ford also joined from DDB as chief creative officer, promoting Barbara Humphries to ECD, and hiring Beth O’Brien as head of innovation. 

Tara says she’s “looking forward to the next chapter”. “We are nothing without our talented people and amazing clients and the work is testament to that,” she says. “I’m proud of how the team and the work has developed and evolved.”

That work has included iconic campaigns such as First Digital Nation (Government of Tuvalu), Play it Safe (Opera House), A Help Company (NRMA), I Still Call Australia Home (Qantas), Boob Balls (Berlei), a host of Meat and Livestock Australia ads, and Kill Hungry Thirsty Dead (Oak).

Last year, the agency took home a Cannes Dan Wieden Titanium Grand Prix for ‘The First Digital Nation’ project for the Government of Tuvalu. For three consecutive years, it was the most effective agency in Australia, and is the reigning AWARD Agency of the Year. This year, The Monkeys won a Cannes Grand Prix for the Opera House’s Play it Safe.

“The evolution of The Monkeys over the past 18 years from trestle table to industry-shaper makes it the perfect springboard for Droga5 in A/NZ,” Matt says.

“The natural kinship between the two brands only serves to strengthen what we can bring to our clients and team, driven by a healthy ambition to make as big an impact as possible.”

Its current client roster includes brands like Tourism Australia (won this year as part of an Accenture village), NRMA (also won this year alongside Droga), Australia Post, and the Sydney Opera House.

Matt says becoming Droga5 formally “opens up new avenues for our people and our clients alike” when it comes to pitching, “further allowing us to reach into the depth of knowledge and capability that Accenture brings to the table, in particular with regards to technology, data, gen AI, and industry expertise as well as our widening capabilities in the marketing realm around 1:1, media and content.”

Before Mark’s promotion to global CEO, Droga5 started the year with Pelle Sjoenell’s appointment as global chief creative officer. Mark’s first hire was former Leo Burnett Australia and DDB Chicago CEO Emma Montgomery to the role of global chief strategy officer.

Matt adds more people across The Monkeys will have access to exposure and opportunities on the global stage, plus “access to incredible resources that are unrivalled in our industry” under the Droga banner.

The Monkeys says its approach of giving “people the room to think (and sometimes fail) bravely” has “paid off. In spades.” Matt is confident it will keep paying off, as The Monkeys begins its new life as Droga5.

“We’ve always had an outlook that once in a lifetime is now,” he says. 

“That optimistic mindset that Mark always carried so well is as truly felt now in our business as it has ever been, and we firmly believe the best work is ahead of us.”