How I obtained right here: Shelley Smoler, Droga5
Droga5's newly appointed Executive Creative Director Shelley Smoler talks to us about how growing up in South Africa affects her work, tapping into culture and learning the importance of bravery in advertising
Shelley Smoler, the new Creative Director of Droga5 London, can look back on many years of experience in opening up culture and society. This is an attribute that is perhaps best illustrated by her work for the Zimbabwean newspaper in her native South Africa at TBWA Hunt Lacaris Johannesburg. The Wallpaper Money campaign, launched in 2009, used real banknotes as the backdrop for posters to highlight the damaged economy under Robert Mugabe's presidency. Work went on to win a coveted D&AD Black Pencil and still feels relevant given the political instability and economic crisis Zimbabwe is currently facing.
Smoler & # 39; s work has channeled culture in other ways as well. In 2015 she moved from South Africa to London to work at BBH for clients such as Guardian, Audi and Google, before moving to Droga5 as Creative Director two years later. One of her most revered projects since joining Droga5 was in 2018 when she worked with Solange to help orchestrate a performance piece for Uniqlo called Metatronia. The project, a mix of dance, sculpture, and film, received praise from fashion and culture magazines and exhibited in an LA museum that served as a masterclass in fusing the worlds of advertising and culture.
Smoler & # 39; s work is also recognized in the award area beyond the boundaries of the advertising world. Just before her promotion to the ECD was announced, her team at Droga5 received an Emmy nomination for Amazon's weird Super Bowl 2020 spot, Before Alexa.
Below, she talks to us about how she uprooted her life to move to the UK, how her experience of growing up in South Africa affects her work today, and what hurdles she overcome to get where she is.