David&Goliath founder looks back on 25 years of the agency’s bravery /

On the last day of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2024, Contagious welcomed a packed audience at our villa to the BraveU Cannes Brunch – where David Angelo, founder and creative chairman of the veteran agency David&Goliath, shared his journey and one-word philosophy — Brave — that has inspired people and brands to overcome their Goliaths and step into their authentic purpose and excellence. During the Brunch, Angelo also unveiled BraveU, the agency’s latest social impact initiative with a specific focus on helping under-resourced youth and young creators thrive.

The talk was followed by a roundtable discussion on bravery hosted by LIONS chief content officer and co-founder of Contagious Paul Kemp Robertson, who joined Angelo on the Brave Stage – renamed after the agency’s signature stage - alongside Tati Lindenberg, Unilever’s VP of marketing; Aba Blankson, chief marketing and communications officer of the NAACP; and Laura Jordan Bambach, founder and CCO at Uncharted.

Angelo kicked off the proceedings with a quote from Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries – an independent non-profit that helps with gang rehabilitation programmes around the world: ‘The true meaning of bravery is inhabiting the truth of who you are,’ Angelo then quipping that ‘It’s also better to own your truth because it’s easier to remember.’

Angelo’s shared his story of a career in advertising and the creation of David&Goliath, detailing how he was expelled from high school at 17, a month before graduating, and becoming a forklift driver. He managed to return to his schooling while working nights, graduating and moving to New York with nothing more than a basketball, a sleeping bag, a 10-speed bike and the ambition of manifesting his creative dream.

Conventional advertising success is what greeted Angelo, working at some of the world’s top agencies, winning awards and earning more and more money – but he confessed that he still felt empty inside, and asked himself, ‘There’s got to be something more than this?’ 

He moved to Los Angeles after being propositioned to start his agency with Kia Motors as its first client (an account that David&Goliath stills holds today), but didn’t like the idea of adding another creative agency to an already bloated industry. ‘I wanted to create a mindset-driven company that would enable me to live my authentic truth in everything that I do.’ And so, David&Goliath was born.

The philosophy embodied by Angelo and his agency can be broken down into three key principles: Own your truth, live it in everything you do, and inspire others to do the same. Angelo noted one particular line as the embodiment of the company’s philosophy, ‘Tenacious as hell, and nice as fuck’ – a pithy approach that David&Goliath takes to its business.

Angelo touched on the immense work David&Goliath’s non-profit Today, I’m Brave has achieved since 2016, which was set up to help unlock opportunities and bravery in youth around the world. He singled out empowering 300 kids in Sierra Leone with a bravery educational curriculum who were left without a school following the Ebola crisis, building 175 roofs for families who lost their roofs during Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean, raising $100,000 for homeless youth in Los Angeles and starting a week-long summer camp experience for younger under-resourced teenagers from Harlem, called Brave Camp.

Angelo then shared details around BraveU, a bespoke program that encompasses all aspects of individual development that begins with recognizing the power that comes from within and achieving your greatest creative aspiration. Because before you can achieve anything great, you first have to believe that you can. BraveU’s approach will provide students with mentoring, inspiring activities and the growth mindset necessary to see the opportunities that come from challenges, and grow stronger from it and thrive.

In the panel discussion at the close of the event, each of the speakers engaged in David&Goliath’s ‘Brave’ philosophy that encourages its employees to speak their truth and overcome fears. Kemp-Robertson, Angelo, Lindenberg, Blankson, and Jordan Baumbach all shared personal worries, insecurities, failures and fears they have overcome – touching on imposter syndrome, fear of career stagnation, their children’s safety and even the fear of flying.

As Angelo said earlier at the event, ‘Fix the roof while the sun is out. Don’t wait for there to be a problem, get out there and do it – regardless of if anyone asked you to do it or not.’ 

At the end, Angelo reflected on whether his time in adland was coming to a close. ‘You retire from a job, not a calling,’ he said.