Tribal DDB’s National ECD David Jackson Steps Down Following RooBadge Wins In Cannes

David Jackson has departed DDB after a seven year stint with the agency, following RooBadge bringing home three Lions from Cannes.

David arrived at DDB seven years ago as a creative partner, working across clients including Virgin Australia, Foxtel, Volkswagen, and Johnson & Johnson. Three and a half years ago, he stepped up to lead Tribal DDB as national executive creative director.

“I was invited over by Ben Welsh, I worked with him at M&C and I had a blast,” David told LBB. 

“It's been fun. Like any agency, there have been ups and downs, but it's been pretty successful all the way through. I've been working on RooBadge for a good four years, so it felt like now Volkswagen's taking that forward and doing things with it, it was the right time to end.”

Having won a Silver and two Bronze Lions this year -- which David called “a nice validation” -- RooBadge is the culmination of a project that survived the 2020 Covid lockdowns.

“It's actually made me wonder, do I want to do more things in that area? Because doing stuff for products is really different to doing TV ads. It's quite an interesting area, there's a lot more involved. There are a lot more tangibilities to it than just doing a TV ad, posting it to your LinkedIn saying, ‘look what I made’, and then maybe someone will see it on TV.”

Other highlights for David during his time at DDB include a Gold Cannes Lions for helping fans mourn at Foxtel's Grave of Thrones, gamifying commercials with Golf Adbreak Championships, and a D&AD pencil for flying a wig across Australia in Virgin's ‘Up, Up and Toupée’ brand spot.

“I've done some great things there, it just felt really fulfilling, I’ve really pushed my skills with some different things. I feel like I got everything I can out of there, and it felt like time to go work somewhere else and work in a different culture."

Among his upcoming projects, David is working on a creative innovation alongside Sport Access Foundation, aimed at breaking down barriers for children with disabilities in sport.

“I'm diving in and doing that full time. I was working on that part time, and it just felt like a nice way to go out of the industry – maybe recharge the creative soul by doing some great things for kids, and then jump back into it. So I haven't really got anything lined up. I’ll enjoy some time off, enjoy some rest and recuperation, and recharge the batteries.”

He also laughed that it’s time to find a new pub.

“I don't know if you've ever been to the Glebe Hotel -- ever since COVID, they have not really changed the menu. There are only so many times you can have a burger or a steak before you need something more.”