# Why an ad creative is betting on the real world

> Bots now drive most online activity, and one Droga5 veteran thinks that makes physical media the new frontier.
- Title: Why an ad creative is betting on the real world · Adweek
- Summary: Bots now drive most online activity, and one Droga5 veteran thinks that makes physical media the new frontier. When most of the internet is automated, the…
- Keywords: advertising, out-of-home, bots, creative, media, betting, real, world, Adweek
- Source: Adweek — https://adweek.com/agencies/droga5-mariano-jeger-outfront-irl-studios
- Author: Mark Stenberg
- Published: 2026-09-14T10:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: advertising, out-of-home, bots, creative, media
## A Droga5 name jumps ship
Mariano Jeger, former executive creative director at Droga5, joined out-of-home advertising company OutFront on Monday.
## He gets a new division
Jeger becomes the first chief creative officer of IRL Studios, which merges OutFront's Creative Studios agency with its XLabs innovation tech unit. He reports to CMO Stacy Minero.
## The resume behind the hire
Jeger led work on Chase Sapphire, Microsoft, UKG and Fever-Tree at Droga5. Before that, two years on Apple at TBWA\Media Arts Lab and a decade at R/GA running creative for Latin America.
## Half the internet is bots
Jeger's move rests on one number. If most online activity is automated, the value shifts to whatever can't be faked, which pushes brands back toward physical media.

> More than 50% of online activity now comes from bots.
## Billboards got programmable
Physical screens can now respond and personalize the way digital ones do. So the trade-off is no longer reach versus authenticity, you can have both.
## Rebranding the whole category
OutFront wants to stop selling legacy out-of-home and start selling in-real-life media, pairing subway and transit inventory with digital as one buy. It also just hired a chief data officer.

> There is a cultural tension between the proliferation of content via AI and physical brands.
## Key takeaway

When most of the internet is automated, the things that can't be faked, physical presence, real places, real attention, start commanding a premium.