Droga 5 is an independent agency that’s made quite the splash at recent award shows… and therefore it’s no surprise they got the #2 spot on the Ad Age’s Agency A-List. The news comes off a stellar year for the mid-sized agency headquartered in New York, having garnered a reputation for it’s unconventional thinking and fresh creative.

“We couldn’t be happier about these wins,” said Andrew Essex, CEO of Droga5. “The critical link between creativity and business success has always been one of our core beliefs, and it’s exciting to be recognized for the sum of our parts.”

Droga5′s creative talents and management team include David Droga, Founder and Creative Chairman; Andrew Essex, CEO; Ted Royer, Executive Creative Director; Nik Studzinski, Executive Creative Director; and many others.

The 5-year-old agency, with 120 employees and two offices, is sweeping awards shows and nabbing clients ranging from Amstel to Prudential with its unconventional ideas. Prudential had typically done their work in-house, however sought after Droga 5 to help their branding efforts around retirement services. Droga 5 thought the best way to understand retirement right now was to interview recent retirees. According to Fast Company staff writer Joe Berkowitz, Droga5 and Prudential worked with a combination of casting resources from all over the U.S., including scouting agents from reality television. The agency team didn’t want actors, so they reached out to companies with a track record for finding and wrangling average people.

The Day One follows retirees on their first day of retirement. The unscripted footage feels authentic and genuine. While the perspectives of each entering retirement is different, with some more prepared than others, the campaign overall is optimistic. All testimonials, or rather short documentaries, are available on DayOneStories.com.