Independent creative agency MIRIMAR has brought the creative team of Jake Ausburn and Alex Polglase aboard its talent roster. Ausburn and Polglase come over from Sydney’s The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song’s global creative network.
Ausburn and Polglase have been working together for two-and-a-half years. In that short time, they’ve won the Cannes Grand Prix, shot on the steps of the Sydney Opera House with Aussie director Kim Gehrig for Play It Safe, sold a script to an acting prime minister, and written "This is Footy Country," a lauded campaign for Telstra that tells the story of a rural sports team.
“Working in the U.S. has always been the dream, and tackling big briefs with the tight-knit, ambitious team at MIRIMAR is the perfect realization of that dream,” Ausburn said. “Don’t tell the Aussies, but I look forward to spelling my words with more z’s: realize, idolize, stylize. Lovely.”
“I’m stoked to join the team at MIRIMAR,” Polglase added. “Their gleaming record of top-tier work for iconic clients makes them quite the port of entry into the States. I can’t wait to get stuck in and see what we can create together.”
Ausburn and Polglase are leading the global relaunch of Speedos for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. They are also an integral part of the team working on MIRIMAR’s new business initiatives.
“They naturally look to push their work beyond just regular advertising, into entertainment, which is a great fit for us. We’re excited to have them as part of our growing team,” said Luke McKelvey, founder and managing director of MIRIMAR.
John McKelvey, founder and chief creative officer of MIRIMAR, added, “Jake and Alex are incredibly talented creatives–smart, great taste, and creatively ambitious. It’s exciting for them to join us and see them thrive in the U.S. on such a big stage.”
MIRIMAR works with brands at the intersection of advertising and entertainment creating notable award-winning work for Apple TV+ Priceline, Speedos, Klarna, Squarespace, Gopuff, Expensify, and Faire La Fête. The shop was named Cannes Lions Independent Agency of the Year—Entertainment for 2022.
After 20 Years of Acting, Megan Park Finds Her Groove In The Director’s Chair On “My Old Ass”
Megan Park feels a little bad that her movie is making so many people cry. It's not just a single tear either — more like full body sobs.
She didn't set out to make a tearjerker with "My Old Ass," now streaming on Prime Video. She just wanted to tell a story about a young woman in conversation with her older self. The film is quite funny (the dialogue between 18-year-old and almost 40-year-old Elliott happens because of a mushroom trip that includes a Justin Bieber cover), but it packs an emotional punch, too.
Writing, Park said, is often her way of working through things. When she put pen to paper on "My Old Ass," she was a new mom and staying in her childhood bedroom during the pandemic. One night, she and her whole nuclear family slept under the same roof. She didn't know it then, but it would be the last time, and she started wondering what it would be like to have known that.
In the film, older Elliott ( Aubrey Plaza ) advises younger Elliott ( Maisy Stella ) to not be so eager to leave her provincial town, her younger brothers and her parents and to slow down and appreciate things as they are. She also tells her to stay away from a guy named Chad who she meets the next day and discovers that, unfortunately, he's quite cute.
At 38, Park is just getting started as a filmmaker. Her first, "The Fallout," in which Jenna Ortega plays a teen in the aftermath of a school shooting, had one of those pandemic releases that didn't even feel real. But it did get the attention of Margot Robbie 's production company LuckyChap Entertainment, who reached out to Park to see what other ideas she had brewing.
"They were very instrumental in encouraging me to go with it," Park said. "They're just really even-keeled, good people, which makes... Read More