The New York Times has ended its relationship with Droga5 and has added 72andSunny to its creative roster to work on major brand campaigns, ADWEEK has learned.
The Times said it does not have an agency of record and works with a roster of agencies on various needs.
“We work with a number of agencies and have for a long time. We’ll have more to share on future campaigns when ready to launch,” a spokesperson for The New York Times said.
But according to sources, 72andSunny’s work will replace Droga5’s position creating big brand campaigns for the publication.
“We are excited to work with The New York Times and have a shared belief in the power of creativity to drive change for businesses,” said Bryan Smith, global chief strategy officer at 72andSunny.
Droga5 did not respond to a request for comment.
Building the Truth platform
The relationship between The New York Times and Droga5, which began in the fall of 2016, ended earlier this year.
The agency debuted the Times’ “Truth” brand platform in early 2017, shortly after Donald Trump took the White House, when trust in news institutions hit an all-time low and misinformation began to skyrocket.
The campaign has since taken on many iterations, including “The Truth Is Worth It” (2018), “The Truth Is Essential” (2020), and “The Truth Takes a Journalist” (2021).
In April, Droga5 debuted a campaign highlighting The Times’ breadth of content beyond news called “More of Life, Brought to Life,” to support subscriber growth.
Changes at Droga5
The New York Times’ shift in agency relationships came before Droga5 laid off 4% of its New York office in November, impacting roles of varying seniority across creative, data strategy, comms strategy, and accounts.
The agency is facing a global review for its relationship with Kimberly-Clark, after being named agency of record for its childcare brands in 2019.
Droga5 has also suffered some leadership departures in the past year. In January, New York CEO Dan Gonda and co-chief strategy officer Colleen Leddy left to join new agency Quality Experience as CEO and chief strategy officer, respectively. In July, co-head of account management Lindsay Cole left to join Uncommon Creative Studio New York as president.
