Three creatives from Droga5 New York have been lured back to New Zealand to take up creative director roles, with Lisa Fedyszyn and Jonathan McMahon joining Ogilvy & Mather and Rory Mckechnie returning to DDB.
The Australian expat pair of Fedyszyn and McMahon have spent the past two years at Droga5 New York, working with clients including Toyota, Sprint, Kraft and Chase Bank.
Prior to New York, they were creative directors and TBWA in Auckland, roles that followed stints in DDB and Colenso as well as two years as the National Heads of the Awards School.
Ogilvy executive director Regan Grafton says it’s great to have such high calibre talent return to the New Zealand markets and he’s excited to have them on the team.
“Lisa and Jonno are a rare breed, combining brilliant creativity, passion for the business and are all around good guys.”
During their time in New Zealand, the pair led a campaign for the ‘Demand Equal Pay’ movement that set up a coffee cart and charged men 10 percent more for coffee than females. They also made one of Australia’s most celebrated sportsmen play second fiddle to a burger for McDonald’s, squeezed 60 scenes into a 60-second spot for Sky Television and proved New Zealand’s top creative leaders do lie in award videos after strapping them to lie detectors for the Effie Awards. They also once hid novels in Word and PowerPoint documents so employees could read books at work.
McMahon says it’s fantastic to be returning to Auckland and starting at Ogilvy.
“Having previously worked with Regan, and thoroughly enjoying it, we know the agency is in great creative hands. We can’t wait to get stuck into the fantastic brands they have and help contribute to the agency’s success.”
Meanwhile, DDB has welcomed back Mckechnie as creative director.
Mckechnie spent five years with DDB before his time in New York, where he worked on campaigns like ‘The Ripple’ for Chase, and holds 60 local and international awards.
About the hire, DDB chief creative officer Damon Stapleton says Mckechnie’s return brings invaluable experience to the agency.
“We’re thrilled to have enticed Rory back home. Rory’s work prior to leaving was really outstanding and having him head overseas was on one hand a shame for us but on the other was an amazing opportunity that he had to pursue,” he says.
Mckechnie is also excited to be back.
“DDB has always held a place in my heart, so the opportunity to return home with such an incredible experience under my belt is fantastic and I’m looking forward to producing more great work with the team here,” he says.
While local agencies have gained three creatives out of Droga5, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne last month farewelled creative duo and twins Tom and George McQueen as they left for the New York agency.
They’re the minds behind the ‘Meet Graham’ campaign, which at this year’s Cannes Lion won two Grand Prix and 29 lions.
