The Monkeys co-founder & group chief creative officer, Justin Drape, is leaving the agency he began in 2006 with Mark Green and Scott Nowell.
Since its beginning as the Three Drunk Monkeys 15 years ago, Drape has been instrumental in growing the agency from three founders to more than 150 people with offices based in Sydney and Melbourne. The Monkeys was acquired by Accenture Interactive in 2017.
The Monkeys has been a leading light when it comes to breaking out of the formats of advertising creativity to create work that turns heads and makes a difference. The agency’s body of work includes critically acclaimed TV shows, charting songs, books, technology and ideas that have won awards and recognition at major award shows such as D&AD, Cannes, Clio, Webbys, AWARD, AACTA Awards, Logies & EY Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Drape commented, “What has always made The Monkeys special is the talented people who committed to shaping the agency’s culture, brand and story. The talented people who continually turn up and challenge the status quo with their creativity, intelligence and relentless belief in making provocative ideas happen. I want to thank all of them.”
The founders remain close stressed Mark Green, co-founder, group chief executive officer of The Monkeys and Accenture Interactive ANZ lead. “We’ve been told more than once that to grow a business like ours you are going to experience great highs and lows and to get out the other side as friends is some kind of miracle. Yet here we are. We have been through so much together both from a business perspective and a personal perspective.”
The Monkeys co-founder and group chief creative officer, Scott Nowell, added, “We’ve been through so much together it’s hard to know where to start. I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved and even more so how we’ve done it. Anyone who’s worked with Justin will tell you he’s a force of nature and I’m excited to see what his next chapter brings.”
What is the next chapter for Drape? That is not yet ready to be revealed.
The Monkeys has been named:
- Campaign Brief Agency of the Year x 2
- Campaign Asia Agency of the Year x 3
- AdNews Creative Agency of the Year
- AdNews NSW Agency of the Year x 5
- AdNews Agency of the Year x 2
- AdNews Independent Agency of the Year x 2
- Mumbrella APAC Creative Agency of the Year x 2
- Mumbrella Creative Agency of the Year x 2
- Mumbrella Full Service Agency of the Year
- Mumbrella Independent Agency of the Year
- B&T Agency of the Year x 2
- B&T Advertising Agency of the Year x 4
- B&T NSW Agency of the Year
- B&T Independent Agency of the Year x 2
- 2019 B&T Agency of the Decade