Zambrero has appointed Jade Clark as head of marketing, after a seven month stint consulting for the Mexican restaurant chain.

In March, Mediaweek revealed Supermassive had snared Zambrero’s creative account, taking over from incumbent Today the Brave – which did not defend the account.

“What an awesome time to be joining a business with doing good at its core,” Clark said. “We’re on an incredible growth trajectory and opening a new restaurant weekly.”

Clark has previously worked across both agencies and brands, including stints at Clemenger BBDO between 2018-2020 and 2021-2023, firstly as a client partner and head of CX, then as client services director.

She had two stretches at CX Lavender, where she was most recently group business head before leaving in 2018; and held a contract role as a senior brand marketing lead at Tourism Tasmania.

Most recently, she was consulting for nine months, since leaving Clems in June last year. Clark said she has been consulting for Zambrero since November, so the appointment was a “long time in the making.”

“I wanted to thank Clemenger BBDO – my time there was a cornerstone in my career,” she added, “and I forged relationships which will last a lifetime. So thank you to everyone who was part of my Clems journey.”

Clark is already hiring a number of roles, including franchisee marketing partner, junior designer, and marketing coordinator. In her new role, she will work with general manager of marketing, Samantha Parker.

“As the business is growing, so is my team,” Clark said. “I’m looking for talented, driven and, most importantly, kind people.”

Zambrero has more than 265 restaurants globally, and was founded in 2005 by 21-year-old Sam Prince. Between 2012 and 2015, it expanded from 20 restaurants to over 100. 

Before Supermassive and Today the Brave worked with the brand, Lionize held Zambrero’s creative account, but its contract was terminated when the agency went into administration in October 2022. A few weeks later, the agency was revived with a New Zealand-based owner.

Former OzTam CEO Doug Peiffer will be joining Foxtel Media as a senior adviser.

Foxtel Media said Peiffer’s new role will see him support the company in unlocking the power of ratings data from Foxtel Group’s 1 million+ Foxtel set-top boxes in partnership with Kantar Media.

Peiffer said he is looking forward to the opportunity to explore new frontiers of measurement in the Australian market.

“The Foxtel Group’s suite of powerful media assets makes them uniquely qualified to pull apart the intricacies of audience measurement and create something truly special,” he said.

“Given the Group’s strong history with broadcast, streaming and rich data tapestry, they are well placed to leverage this information. Combined with a demonstrated willingness to work collaboratively with the industry, they are ideally positioned to deliver unparalleled insights to market that will enhance trading and boost results for the entire industry. I’m excited to be part of this pivotal moment in Australian media.”

Peiffer will report directly to Foxtel Media CEO Mark Frain and bring his experience to the development of new reach and effectiveness measures across linear and streaming channels. He will also add his insight to projects and initiatives run in partnership with Video Futures Collective partners – Foxtel launched the industry think tank in March.

Frain said that Peiffer’s knowledge would be key in transforming how media is measured by advertisers.

“In an increasingly competitive landscape, audience measurement has become all the more critical for everyone along the video supply chain, from media companies to agencies and advertisers,” he said.

“The evolution of content delivery has also made measurement highly complex and technical. What’s been clear to me from speaking to industry folks from the UK, the US and locally is there are only a handful of people around the world able to really navigate this field.

“Doug is one of the few experts globally with the background and deep technical knowledge to bring Australian measurement into the new age of media, and we are lucky to have him join the team.”

Peiffer started his career as a people meter installer for Nielsen in the US, and was the general manager of strategy, integration and research at Network Ten for nine years before being appointed CEO of OzTAM.

Mediaweek celebrated the advertising, media, and marketing industry’s Next of the Best last Thursday, at an awards ceremony held at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom.

The doors swung open to welcome 300 attendees dressed to the nines and representing companies including Paramount, Mutinex, Atomic 212, OMD, The Brag Media, Seven, Dentsu, and many more. The evening kicked off with an Acknowledgement of Country from Tim Bishop.

Mediaweek managing director and publisher Trent Thomas welcomed guests before passing the mic over to KIISFM’s Mitch Churi, who was the evening’s emcee for the second year running.

Tim Bishop

Trent Thomas

Mitch Churi

Churi cheekily bickered with his rivals Jimmy and Nath from SCA, who won in the Audio Talent category. The radio network also won with Leon Sjogren in the Audio Producer category and Brittany Banfield for Marketing – Media.

Robert Irwin, host of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here, sent in a video thanking the judges for awarding him as the winner of the On-Screen Talent category. 

“This is just really meaningful, big thank you to channel 10 for giving me the opportunity to step out and to try something new hosting I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here been the most incredible journey. Wish I could be there with you all but a big congratulations to everyone.”

PHD’s Andie Potter won the Ad Tech category, Tom Sheppard from Atomic 212° took the win for Data and Research, while the Creative Agencies award went to head of strategy at Special Austalia, Celia Garforth.

Harry McGregor from Asahi was recognised by industry leaders in the Marketing – Brands category, Nicholas Chin from OMD won the Media Agencies – All Agencies, and Today The Brave’s Jacqui Capel took out Media Agencies – Independent.

The PR Specialist award went to Seven Network’s national publicity manager Brittany Stack, while Social Media Specialist went to Kieran Simpson, head of digital at The Project on Paramount. The Publishing award went to Scott Purcell, co-founder of Man of Many, while the award for New Business Growth – Agencies went to Atomic 212’s Rory Heffernan.

Brittany Stack

Jimmy and Nath

Keeshia Pettit with Mitch Churi

Tim O’Connor

Emily Cook

Rory Heffernan

The Think News Brands Award for the Best Use of News Publishing went to Nathan Livingston, Brittany Daniel and the News Corp team for the Samsung Z Series campaign.

The evening was rounded out with four new awards: Salesperson, won by Tim O’Connor from Vevo, Culture won by Emily Cook from dentsu Queensland, and Changemaker Tiff Ng at The Social Story.

The penultimate award of the night was for Leadership, which went to Mutinex co-founder Henry Innis.

Next of The Best Awards 2024 winners

Renee Saunts

In his acceptance speech, Innis said: “I just want to thank everybody in this industry, my team, who are the most fucking intelligent, amazing people to work with ever, and the entire industry, including clients, agencies, publishers, and all of you guys who have gotten behind us.

“You’ve made my dream come true, and I hope we can change the world of marketing effectiveness together.”

Following the formalities was a performance by drag artist Renee Saunts (aka News Corp sales manager Enrico Resuta), before guests took to the dance floor. 

Read more: Mediaweek Next of the Best winners revealed: Henry Innis, Robert Irwin, Celia Garforth, and more

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Top image: Mediaweek Next of The Best Awards 2024 winners

SBS has been named the most trusted news brand in Australia by the University of Canberra and Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism’s annual global Digital News Report 2024.

Each year, the report delivers comparative data on media usage in 47 countries, including Australia.

The University of Canberra conducts the Australian research for the global report, examining Australians’ attitudes to news and journalism. In recent years, it has charted the declining trust and growing misinformation within the news and social media ecosystems.

SBS news director Mandi Wicks said the recognition proves that Australians value trusted news brands.

“As SBS prepares to move into our 50th year, this report is a strong validation of the work our teams do across all news platforms to provide accurate, impartial and trustworthy news and information to all Australians,” Wicks said.

“With more people consuming their news through social media platforms, the presence of trusted brands in that space is more crucial than ever.”

The Digital News Report also noted the growing concern around misinformation in Australia, which rose to 75% from 64% in 2022. Audiences are reporting greater difficulty in identifying untrustworthy information, the report said.

Writing in the report, Wicks commented on the importance of trust, especially as the use of artificial intelligence is rising in newsrooms.

“Trust in news has been declining during the past few years, news avoidance has been increasing, and misinformation and disinformation pervade our social feeds and threaten to undermine our democratic way of life,” she said.

“The role is increasingly falling to news publishers to report on the news of the day, to combat ‘fake news’ and to moderate hate speech on their social media profiles, comments which are often AI generated via bots.

“Newsrooms grappled with this during the Voice Referendum in 2023 and there will be similar challenges in 2024 with AI having the potential to influence domestic and geopolitical issues, with more than 60 countries and nearly half the world’s population going to the polls in 2024.”

Special has been appointed as the brand and creative agency lead for IGA following a competitive pitch led by TrinityP3. 

The creative agency will work across brand strategy and design, advertising, and communications for the supermarket chain.

“We are really proud to partner with this great team at IGA and this wonderful brand in its next chapter,” Lindsey Evans, partner and CEO at Special Australia, said.

“It is a brand that is at the heart of so many communities and we are in a privileged position to be able to help leverage the incredibly powerful brand truths in supercharging growth.”

IGA noted the alignment of choosing an independent agency to work with independent grocers.

“We’re excited to partner with Special, another independent network, to continue to share more about what makes IGA special and the benefits that come from shopping local from family-owned businesses,” said Fiona Johnston, general manager shopper, brand and loyalty at Metcash Food.

The IGA network consists of more than 1,150 independent family-owned businesses located in regional and metro areas across Australia. IGA is Australia’s leading independent supermarket and said store owners over the country pride themselves on supporting their local shoppers, communities, producers, and suppliers.

Special’s latest win comes after the independent creative agency won the Cricket Australia account for the upcoming marquee Men and Women’s International Series last month.

The agency is tasked with creating a unifying idea for the international series that generates excitement, while strengthening its reputation as a must-attend event this summer.
 
Bec Stambanis, partner at Special, said: “International cricket is the heartbeat of summer in this country and there is nothing quite like the anticipation of two great nations coming together to battle it out.
 
“We could not be more excited to partner with Cricket Australia on this next chapter and we are inspired by the ambition and passion of the CA team.”

Spark Foundry has promoted Olia Krivtchoun to the newly-created role of chief client services officer.

She joins Spark Foundry Australia with more than 16 years of experience in client-facing roles, having worked in leadership positions across Publicis Groupe ANZ for over eight years. Most recently, she was employed as general manager for Publicis Groupe ANZ, leading several of the Groupe’s key connected clients.

Matthew Turl, Spark Foundry Australia CEO, said: “Olia is a remarkable talent and a highly regarded team leader who brings to the agency extensive experience across major and complex industry sectors both globally and locally. As a practitioner, she has developed a view across the full consumer ecosystem, which will be invaluable to how we service our clients in a holistic way.

“We are excited to have Olia join our team and work hand-in-hand with our senior client leaders to build and execute strong growth plans designed to exceed our clients’ business objectives.”

Krivtchoun will join the agency’s executive leadership team, responsible for driving successful client partnerships that provide business growth for the agency and its clients.

In the role, she will also focus on further fostering interdisciplinary connections across the agency in strategy, planning, analytics, investment, performance, data, and technology.

Krivtchoun will also be responsible for leading and mentoring a team of 120 client integration specialists to further enhance the quality of service and foster long-term relationships with client partners.

“I have tremendous respect for the Spark Foundry Australia leadership team, many of whom have had a long tenure with the agency and are directly responsible for the positive trajectory of the business,” Krivtchoun said of her appointment.

“I am excited to work with some of the best talent in the industry to build on the strengths of the teams and further elevate Spark Foundry’s unique offering for its diverse portfolio of clients.”

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Top image: Olia Krivtchoun

By Psembi Kinstan, executive creative director at DDB Group Melbourne

Last week, I was fortunate to be judging at the 4As advertising festival in Sri Lanka. The festival marked the first time the local industry has celebrated Sri Lankan work for the last 14 years, and the quality of the conversation and enthusiasm of the participants was career-affirming. Far from feeling like an industry event finding its way after a decade in hiatus, there was much here that other ad festivals should take note of.

The festival was led by MullenLowe Group Sri Lanka CCO Dilshara Jayamanna and Shift Integrated CEO Selonica Perumal and came at a critical time for the Sri Lankan industry.

In their own words, “Over the past few years, Sri Lanka has stumbled from crisis to crisis and missed out on invaluable learning opportunities. Like all industries, the ad industry too has been the victim of brain drain and the depreciation of the Sri Lankan Rupee has made it increasingly difficult for agencies to afford to send their teams to international festivals – tickets to Spikes are equivalent to a junior creative’s annual salary.

“Despite these hardships, our country is on a path of recovery, and there’s a renewed sense of optimism and resilience. By launching a festival on par with regional standards within Sri Lanka, we are not just bridging a gap, but reminding our industry that we are in possession of our own unique talent.”

So what could we all get out of the 4As? Here’s the four takeaways that I’ll try to hold onto.

1. World class work isn’t the same as global work

Many of the global campaigns coming out of Asia feel like they could be coming out of offices in Amsterdam, New York, or London. Campaigns such as Singapore’s Heinekicks or the Philippines’ McDonald’s Unbranded Menu could have come from any great global office in the world.

But Ajay Vikram, CCO of Publicis Groupe South East Asia, asked a very good question: Should they? Instead, should our offices strive to do the work our global offices couldn’t: work so uniquely tapped into local culture and insight that it could come from nowhere else?

That’s easier to imagine in Sri Lanka than Australia, but it makes me think we don’t spend enough time thinking about what makes our audiences unique. So on that note…

2. Own your own truth

The best ideas of the festival, either shared in presentations, or in the awards themselves, were all solving specific local problems, or tapping into local cultural practices.

The Indian jurors admitted that the country had adopted a successful formula for Cannes 25 years ago and have stuck to it ever since: find problems so unique and interesting that no creative solution had ever been attempted before.

Sorju Dutt, CCO at Dentsu Creative India, shared Motorola’s Deep Connect, a solution for miners working deep underground outside of mobile connection to speak to their family and tell them they’re safe. Assam Khalid, founder of Vexology UAE, shared BBDO Pakistan’s Truck Art Childfinder.

In a country with limited media coverage, they utilised the local cultural phenomenon of adorning trucks with murals of personalities and celebrities, and changed the portraits to missing children, reuniting seven children back with their families.

Awarded at the festival was Suwa Walan. Across Sri Lanka, women buy clay pots (walan) for cooking, and have a practice of checking the pot for cracks, discolouration, lumps, or any other signs that the pot may break. They used these pots as an initiative to promote breast cancer self-examination with custom clay pots embedded with various physical warnings signs of cancer, and adorned them with traditional artworks depicting the steps for self-examination.

Countless other great ideas with specific cultural insights were shared and unpacked, from the Life Saving Dot, an idea that transformed bindis into iodine patches, to Naming the Invisible, an app that helped the 60 million Pakistanis living as unregistered citizens to receive a Digital Birth Registration.

3. There is no APAC region

Pooja Rawat, EVP of strategy at MullenLowe Lintas Mumbai, discussed the notion of ‘no one India’. Of the 36 different states and territories within India, many have different languages, religions, completely different gender and societal roles and expectations, and therefore completely different relationships with brands.

Pooja shared many examples of brands making work that was strategically opposite for two Indian states.

Again, the conversation came back to finding local truths and insights, avoiding the one-size-redubbed-for-all global approach.

Ajay Vikram built on this, hitting home that Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand have as little in common with each other as they do with Australia, so the very idea of regional brand campaigns is antiquated at best, and destructive at worst.

Sure, Australia is much more homogenised as a population, but writing as someone who hails from remote West Australia, it’s fair to say it’s not nearly as homogenised as we make out in most campaigns.

Perhaps the world of personalisation being unleashed by AI will mean there’s soon more chance than ever for regional insights (I can imagine a world where not all campaigns for West Australians feature quokkas, whale sharks, or jet skis).

4. We all are hungry to see more brilliant populist work from around the world. Not just Cannes work

There was some incredibly populist, creative, and effective work shared by the jurors in presentations. Work that made brands famous and wildly popular. But every juror had the same observation; it’s hard for creatives and marketers to discover populous work from around the world – if it’s not shaped for Cannes.

So how do we as an industry do more to share work that’s creative and successful?

It led to the idea of championing interesting and populist work from outside our region and sharing them regularly in a column, with insider views from local markets, an idea that Mediaweek has backed.

Soon, we’ll launch a new series of ongoing Out Of Our Bubble Creative Reviews, showcasing global work that’s caused a stir in local markets, but doesn’t have the singular goal of winning at Cannes.

Stay tuned for these later in the year and in the meantime, let’s all do more to find and share the best work outside of our tiny pocket of the world.

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See also: DDB Melbourne thinks ‘You’re better off with British Paints’

69% of Australians access TV via the internet, meaning millions would miss out on watching sport if proposed anti-siphoning laws are not applied to streaming services, according to research commissioned by Free TV as part of its ongoing campaign for the government to update the proposed laws.

The national polling by Resolve Strategic found only 29% of Australians watch TV exclusively through an aerial and 18% of those are considering switching to digital soon.

If anti-siphoning laws are not extended to digital services, around half (49%) of people who use free streaming services such as 7plus, 9Now and 10 Play reported they would simply miss out on watching sport.

17% said they would reconnect their aerial and only 9% would sign up to paid streaming services.

“This research shows that most Australians are watching TV through the internet and this proportion will only increase as more people either ditch their aerials and new homes are built without them,” said Free TV CEO Bridget Fair.

“New anti-siphoning laws must be updated to reflect this reality otherwise millions will be forced to buy expensive streaming subscriptions during a cost-of-living crisis or miss out altogether on the great sporting events that bind our nation together.

“All Australians deserve access to sport, regardless of their income or whether they have an antenna on their home.”

The research also found 67% of Australians support anti-siphoning laws which protect access to free sport and 69% support extending those laws to digital services.

The government’s anti-siphoning bill prevents subscription streaming services such as Amazon, Apple, and Disney from buying exclusive terrestrial broadcast rights to sporting events like the Olympics, AFL, NRL and cricket.

However, they can still acquire exclusive digital rights.

The Resolve polling, commissioned by Free TV Australia – which represents free-to-air broadcasters including Seven, Nine and Ten – found that extending the rules to apply to streaming rights would be popular.

Almost a third (32%) of voters would be more likely to vote for a major party acting on this issue while only 3% would be less likely.

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Top image: Bridget Fair

The Australian has unveiled a new brand platform, Welcome to the Contest of Ideas, as part of its 60th anniversary celebrations, led by indie creative agency Today the Brave.

Editor-in-chief, Michelle Gunn, said that since its inception in 1964, The Australian has served as a platform where diverse perspectives collide and the status quo is challenged.

“For the past 60 years, The Australian has fostered critical thinking and encouraged innovation and the robust exchange of perspectives in an effort to move the nation forward,” she said.

“We call this the contest of ideas – an arena where the country’s best journalists and editors relentlessly question and scrutinise conventional thinking, leading to clearer thought and deeper understanding.”

Director of consumer marketing Bettina Brown said the platform honours the heritage of the iconic brand, while welcoming readers and subscribers to embrace a future of storytelling.

“As we celebrate 60 years, we have taken the opportunity to re-state what the brand is all about – sharing and debating the ideas that drive our country. We want to engage with audiences invested in the nation’s future, readers who are united in their thirst for knowledge and have a growth-driven mindset.”

Today the Brave’s founding partner Jaimes Leggett said: “Today the Brave is honoured to have been trusted by News Corp Australia to bring this brand platform to life.

“As the world becomes exponentially more complex, the importance of News’ diverse editorial excellence has never been more important for Australian audiences. The Contest of Ideas reflects News’ readiness to challenge the status quo, something that we see the business doing day-in-day-out as their long-term agency partner.”

The new campaign is rolling out across print, digital, social, radio, podcast, TV and outdoor.

As well as editorial content across print, digital, video, social, and a podcast via The Front, there will also be a gala black-tie anniversary event on 25 July to celebrate the paper’s 60th anniversary – Rupert Murdoch himself is expected to attend.

Australia’s total advertising revenue is projected to grow to $28.9 billion, a 7.3% jump, according to Magna’s Global Ad Forecast.

Meanwhile, digital media owners’ advertising revenues are expected to reach $22.2 billion, growing by 11.9%. The report noted that digital advertising will account for 77% of total advertiser budgets.

Within digital advertising, search advertising revenues are expected to grow by 9.5% to $10.9 billion, while social media advertising revenues are projected to increase by 19.4% to $7.7 billion.

Digital video advertising revenues are expected to grow by 7.6% to $2.4 billion, static display advertising revenues are expected to decline by 1.8% to $400 million, and mobile advertising will represent 75% of total digital advertising budgets.

“We’re seeing so much volatility across the market, but we are forecasting media spend growth this year when you look at the total market, and this growth will be driven purely by digital channels and digital extensions of traditional categories. Social, Search and Video will be the winners in 2024,” Lucy Formosa-Morgan, managing director of Magna Australia, said.

The global media investment and intelligence company’s report highlighted that traditional media owners’ advertising revenues are projected to be $6.7 billion, a drop of 5.4% year on year.

Television advertising revenues are forecast to fall by 11.6% to $3.5 billion, while publishing advertising revenues are projected to decline by 10% to $600 million.

Audio advertising revenues will grow by 3.2% to $1.2 billion, Magna predicted, and OOH advertising revenues are expected to increase by 7% to $1.3 billion.

Meanwhile, the APAC ad market is expected to grow by 8.5% to reach $289 billion off the back of 9.5% growth.

This is a result of a slightly slowing but stable economic environment, the report said, where real GDP is expected to grow by 5.2% in 2024, according to the IMF.

Television budgets are predicted to stabilise in 2024 and grow by 0.2% following last year’s -2.3% performance. This increase in growth is primarily driven by the tailwinds of sporting events, primarily the Paris Olympics. The UEFA Euro 2024 tournament and other sporting events typically have only a minor impact in APAC markets.

Digital advertising revenues are a primary driver of growth, with search remaining the largest portion, representing $103 billion in 2024 and 47% of total digital advertising budgets.

Leigh Terry, the CEO of  IPG Mediabrands APAC, said the outlook is positive for the region.

“Despite economic fluctuations, digital advertising remains the driving force, with search and social media leading the way,” he said.

“The digital dominance in APAC is expected to persist, with digital revenues forecast to account for 81% of total budgets by 2028, up from 76% in 2024.

“This shift underscores the growing importance of digital channels in reaching and engaging consumers in the region. Sri Lanka, India, and Japan are poised for significant growth in 2024, with mature markets in the region also showing signs of recovery and contributing to the overall positive outlook for APAC.”

Search advertising in APAC is substantially driven by retail media platforms, especially in China where Alibaba, JD.com, Pinduoduo, and Meituan are key contributors. The Magna report noted that core search is also spiking around the world as traditional search platforms like Google and Baidu see strong performance relative to recent results. 

Social media advertising revenues will continue to dominate in 2024, growing 15% to reach $74 billion. Magna noted that social media budgets represent 34% of total digital advertising budgets, with both search and social media revenues driven by mobile devices as either the dominant or only way consumers access the internet across the APAC markets.

The report noted that 76% of total digital advertising revenues in APAC are on mobile devices.

There are many reasons to give ABC’s new weekly program Monday’s Experts a look. Sports fans are served by so many sports panel shows that there will be much interest in how hosts Catherine Murphy and Tony Armstrong make this one different.

The weekend is already well-served by sports shows from Nine’s AFL and NRL Sunday Footy Shows to Fox Footy’s Bounce. Monday sees another range of options from analysis on AFL.co.au, panel shows for both footy codes on Nine, Talking Footy on Seven, and a handful of analysis shows on Fox Footy, Fox League and Fox Sports.

Thrown onto that crowded starting grid is the 2024 rookie Monday’s Experts.

The new sports entertainment show promises coverage of all that happens both on and off the field each week. The hosts will be joined by a panel of sports journalists and comedians coming off the bench.

The format will cover the biggest stories and the funniest and most awe-inspiring moments of the week.

Team selection: Monday’s Experts

CJZ’s Damian Davis

Regular panellists include the comedians Broden Kelly (Aunty Donna) and Lizzy Hoo and a plethora of guests each week who will be journos, comedians and sports aficionados.

Steering the new format is long-time TV coach and executive producer Damian Davis. He is working alongside ABC executive producer Rachel Millar who is ABC’s head of entertainment.

The new show has been commissioned for eight weeks, taking the prized Monday timeslot held by Q&A. If the producers find an audience, there will have to be a conversation about where the show might live if called on to continue.

The mid-year break for Q&A is a great time for the program given the T20 World Cup is underway which then leads into Paris 2024.

Davis told Mediaweek the panel show format will draw on the essence from past ABC programs like Live and Sweaty and The Fat to Roy & HG. Prior to joining CJZ, Davis worked for ABC for 13 years, including a stint producing The Fat.

When asked about how long CJZ had been putting together the show, Davis explained: “It’s been an extraordinarily quick turnaround. The production team has been together for about three weeks. There’s a lot of things that had to be formed very quickly.”

Monday’s Experts hosts Tony Armstrong and Catherine Murphy

Key to the show’s success will be the reaction to the hosts. Davis and the ABC have made two great choices.

Davis said: “We have Tony Armstrong, a Silver Logie winner. Long-time ABC broadcaster, ex-AFL player. He has a great ability to communicate and to be very funny. He has a real interest in and a great knowledge about sport.

“Catherine Murphy was an Irish sports journalist now living here and working for the ABC. She started at the ABC around the same time as Tony and there is a fantastic energy between them.”

The hosts will be joined every week by a combination of comedians and journalists. “Each show will feature interviews with sportspeople or sports-adjacent celebrities.”

No post-match analysis on new show

The ABC already has a well-regarded sports show on Sunday mornings – Offsiders. Davis explained the difference between the two shows. “They do reportage very well about what’s happening on the weekend across all sports.

“Monday’s Experts won’t be about giving results and match analysis. We will look at the stories, the personalities, the controversies, and moments of brilliance. It will be more about entertainment. All the time looking for laughs. There will be serious chat, but also a lot of laughs.

“Any interviews on Monday’s Experts will be looking beyond the guests’ most recent performances. We’ll ask about their lives and we will have a bit of fun.”

Murphy with Melbourne AFL superstar Jake Lever

Access to sports footage

Davis said the show is able to access footage under fair use provisions if they are reporting on something within the week. “We can also use footage if it is being reviewed and critiqued. An analysis of the coverage is allowed.”

Because of those reasons, episodes of Monday’s Experts will only sit in iview for one week after broadcast.

Not being able to show any Olympic vision will be a challenge, with Davis noting they will need to find other ways to highlight performances.

Monday’s Experts training run

Given the short lead time, there hasn’t been a lot of time for rehearsals or dry runs. Tony Armstrong has been off filming for other programs. The first run-throughs ahead of the premiere episode were on Friday and Saturday before broadcast.

Davis: “Friday’s rehearsal was be bit of a stumble through where were trying things out. We hadn’t done a show yet end-to-end. We have just played with different segments. The show is very full. We were testing different things to see what stays and goes.”

Tony Armstrong during an appearance on 10’s The Project

On Mondays, the show will be taped about four hours before broadcast. Davis: “That doesn’t really give us time for editing. We will just be doing legals on it.”

Everyone who works on the show are sports fans, explained Davis. He noted it’s a pretty small team with about seven working on the production.

“There will be a bit of evolution on air as we learn what editorially works best.”

Watch Monday’s Experts on ABC and iview from 9.30pm Mondays

See also: Jennifer Collins harnesses ABC TV star power to maintain 2024 momentum

By Ciel Graham, research director, The Growth Distillery

It was almost a year ago when The Growth Distillery first took a look under the hood of the automotive category as part of the Moments that Matter series. What we uncovered was a sector in total turbulence, consumers who are inexperienced at navigating it, and marketers racing against time to make an impact.

Drive forward to now… and the automotive landscape has only grown more complex for both buyers and brands. The challenge has never been greater, but neither has the opportunity. And that’s where our latest deep-dive, Reframe Automotive, kicks into gear.

To help cut through the confusion and better understand the realities of car ownership in 2024, The Growth Distillery partnered with The Research Agency (TRA) and spoke with more than 2,000 Australians through qualitative and quantitative approaches. The results are in, and the conversations that car buyers are currently having might surprise you.

While the features and performance of the vehicle itself matters, 60% of conversations are about how the car they choose makes them feel. With more brands, more choices, new needs, and new influences, buyers are overwhelmed rather than spoilt for choice. In fact, 61% told us they believe all cars offer the same or similar features with 59% finding the thought of buying a car in 2024 “anxiety inducing”.

So why, and what is, the ‘Reframe’?

Last year, 49% of buyers felt overwhelmed by the pace of change in the sector. This year that figure has jumped, with 64% telling us they feel this way.

Emotive and visually captivating campaigns can, and do, capture buyers’ hearts and minds. Spec-sheets remain crucial to be on the consideration set.  The real challenge is translating the ‘feel’ from the screen or the page, into the real world.

To achieve this, marketers need to reframe their thinking beyond the car and car “buyer” itself, and focus on the human behind the wheel to help them cut through the clutter.

How might this look in practice?

The market has always looked at car buyers through the lens of two mindsets – utility and premium – which are anchored in what they are buying. While these remain valuable frames, the why behind them now becomes more important.

Let’s start by shining the light on the utility mindset, typically seen as practical, no-frills, and likely apathetic buyers. Their conversations about the car focus on functionality – reliability, safety, efficiency, and convenience. However, when we look deeper into the research, we find these buyers are highly aspirational. They seek independence, progression, escape, and connection.

The reframed role of the car extends beyond function, to empowerment – what it enables them to do and achieve.

Now if we look at the premium mindset,  these buyers are perceived as prestige driven, status-seeking, probably a bit pretentious. They talk about the car make and model, styling, performance, and upgrade options.

Our research widens this view and reveals them as content and self-confident in life. They value experimentation, affinity, exploration, and individuality.

The reframed role of the car shifts beyond status, to passions – a celebration of who they are and what they care about.

So what can auto marketers actually do?

There are three territories which align to the Moments that Matter purchase journey where marketers can fuel differentiation and deliver transcendent value within this new reframed view:

1. Provide exceptional on-ramps (at the initial research ‘recalibration’ stage)

Connect with them more meaningfully and in their world, when they’re experiencing life at its richest, seeking empowerment and pursuing their passions.

2. Offer ‘dealer’ distinctiveness (at the decision or ‘conviction’ stage)

Bring their world into yours, especially where their cognitive load is highest and give them new reasons to believe in your brand.

3. Buy a ticket (at the drive-away or ‘commitment’ stage)

The vehicle is a gateway to lives people seek to live. Servicing, experiences, and mementos are increasingly important to stay in each other’s worlds.

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Top image: Ciel Graham

The Seven Network has appointed Gemma Acton to the newly-created national role of director of news operations.

Reporting to Seven’s director of news and current affairs and Seven West Media editor-in-chief, Anthony De Ceglie, Acton will work closely with De Ceglie, the metropolitan and regional news directors, executive producers, and other senior news leaders to drive culture and innovation across newsrooms nationally.

She will also be responsible for leading and implementing the division’s new digital-first strategy as well as overseeing budgets.

Currently Seven’s network finance editor, Acton has over 20 years’ media, television, and banking experience in Australia and overseas.

Before joining Seven’s Sydney newsroom in 2017, Acton spent several years working in Europe, the US, and the Middle East as an investment banker and wealth manager at firms including Goldman Sachs, before becoming a correspondent and anchor at CNBC.

De Ceglie said Acton is taking on a crucial role as a leader for Seven’s news and current affairs teams at a pivotal moment for the business.

“I’m really excited and confident about how she will help shape the path forward for Seven. Her background and her experience mean she will hit the ground running. She is also extremely well-regarded and respected by her peers,” he said.

“Gemma’s appointment is part of a plan to ensure the news leadership team is well-positioned to seize every future opportunity.”

Acton added: “As Seven’s news and current affairs division leans into the incredible opportunities that the digital media world offers, I’m excited to work with Anthony and the executive leadership team on empowering our exceptional news teams to carry out their best work.

“Our newsrooms will be underpinned by a respectful and forward-focused culture where talent, innovation and ideas are given all the tools they need to flourish.”

Acton will be reducing her on-air commitments as she takes on the new role immediately, but will continue to regularly appear across screens at Seven. 

Acton follows a range of new hires since De Ceglie was promoted to Seven’s director of news and current affairs and Seven West Media’s editor-in-chief. 

In May, the network announced Gemma Williams as the new executive producer for Spotlight, replacing Mark Llewellyn. Llewellyn left the program amidst its involvement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against 10 and Lisa Wilkinson.

Williams was previously Sydney bureau chief for Nine’s A Current Affair. She has also been a producer for 2GB’s Ben Fordham, and assistant chief of staff at Nine News Sydney.’

Seven also promoted Chris Salter to Melbourne news director to fill the gap created by Shaun Menegola‘s exit.

Salter becomes director of news at Seven Melbourne after six years at Seven in Adelaide.

Veteran Menegola resigned recently, saying it was “entirely my decision and one I’ve been thinking about for a long time. It’s not one driven by anything else other than the fact that I’m looking to take a break.”

QMS has appointed Amelia Allan as group business director, South Australia.

Allan will be responsible for leading the newly established South Australian sales function. QMS has expanded into South Australia as the company’s relationship with sales representation company, Medianest, concludes this month.

Allan joins QMS from Wavemaker Adelaide, where she was marketplace associate director for almost two years. Before Wavemaker, she spent just under a decade in various sales roles at Southern Cross Austereo.

QMS chief sales officer, Tim Murphy, said: “Over the past decade, Tim Kennedy and the team at Medianest have done a terrific job of showcasing our portfolio of outstanding digital out of home assets to the South Australian market.

“QMS’ ongoing network growth has reinforced the need for a dedicated local presence in Adelaide, and we look forward to connecting with our clients to further drive innovative DOOH solutions. Our sincere thanks are also extended to everyone at Medianest for 10 great years of representation.

“I’m pleased to welcome Amelia to QMS in this important new role. She is very highly regarded, with strong media and agency experience.

“Her valuable market knowledge, passion for out of home and understanding of the entire media landscape will prove to be a valuable asset as we look to invest further into the South Australian market.”

Late last year, QMS announced the addition of four new digital large format sites on key arterials in Adelaide that now sees its South Australian network deliver advertisers more than 24 million impressions a week.

Allan said: “With the growth and momentum QMS has as Australia’s leader and expert in DOOH, the opportunity to be a part of that story for the South Australian market was something I had to be a part of.

“The timing of QMS’ expansion in South Australia could not have come at a better time. With population growth and more advertisers looking to expand their local and national campaigns, I’m excited to lead the QMS team here through this next phase of growth for the business,” she said.

Allen will commence her role at QMS on 29 July.

Allen’s appointment comes as this week, QMS won the tender to manage select external digital large format billboards for retail property group Vicinity Centres in Victoria and Tasmania.

The expansion of the outdoor company’s national premium network is effective immediately.

The appointment covers two shopping centre locations in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs – Box Hill Central and The Glen – as well as Eastlands shopping centre in Hobart’s Rosny Park, which will be home to QMS’ first digital billboard in Tasmania.

The partnership follows other recent wins for QMS, including Transport for NSW, The Hills Shire Council, the Australian Turf Club’s Rosehill Gardens Racecourse, and the Australian Rail Track Corporation’s (ARTC) out-of-home assets across Sydney.

Claxon has added Australian-owned and operated windows and doors brand Wideline Group to its client list.

The full-service independent agency’s remit will encompass strategy, media, and creative. It will oversee the delivery of a robust omnichannel approach for Wideline via its proprietary brand performance methodology, the agency said. This will support Wideline Group’s plans to significantly increase its national footprint.

Claxon’s chief growth officer, Jade Axford, said Wideline Group was a great win for the agency, particularly as both share the same principles of providing a first-class product by focusing on advanced technologies and innovation.

“Wideline’s brief to build out a robust omni-channel strategy supporting ambitious growth is a perfect fit for our team, as it aligns perfectly with Claxon’s ethos to holistically bring brand and performance together to drive business growth,” Axford said.

“Additionally, we are excited to elevate the brands’ existing relationship with an iconic renovation show on Ch9 to engage more customers and position Wideline as the windows and doors expert for both builders and home renovators.”

Michelle Hendriks, director at Wideline Group, added: “We are delighted to partner with Claxon at such a pivotal time in our growth strategy. Claxon’s use of AI across its creative offering plus the team’s understanding of our ambitious expansion plans make them the perfect partner to support the next stage of our brand’s history.

“Our 55-year history and heritage are essential foundations to Wideline’s story, but with Claxon’s help we will strike a balance between maintaining the brand’s history and at the same time be known as a contemporary and modern brand able to compete in today’s – and tomorrow’s – competitive market. We can’t wait to see where our partnership leads.”

Claxon has already begun working on the account, starting with strategy development. The creative execution is expected to launch in market in Q3.

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Top image: Jade Axford

The Australia Association of National Advertisers (AANA) is adding 15 new members to its community.

The new members include the ABC, BHP, BlackBay Lawyers, Carsales, DoubleVerify, Hismile, MECCA, Mutinex, Murmur, OPTUS, Paramount, Revolution360, Volvo, v2food, and 7Eleven.

“We are excited to welcome these exceptional brands and impressive marketers to the AANA family,” Josh Faulks, CEO at the AANA, said.

“Their expertise and insights will enrich our collective efforts to shape the future of a trusted and sustainable marketing industry in Australia.”

The AANA said it strives to foster collaboration, connection, thought leadership, professional development and responsible marketing and with its new members, will continue to build a diverse community that reflects the evolving landscape of the industry.

Rod Prosser, chief of sales at Paramount ANZ, said: “Joining the Australian Association of National Advertisers demonstrates Paramount ANZ’s commitment to delivering premium content in safe and regulated environments for our clients and audiences across our platforms.

“This partnership underscores our dedication to fostering responsible, innovative, and effective advertising. We look forward to contributing our expertise and collaborating on initiatives that will shape the future of the advertising landscape in Australia.”

The ABC said joining the AANA will allow it to continue to “take a leading role in the areas we operate in, to maintain the highest  standards for all of our activities.”

“Joining the Australian Association of National Advertisers enables us to contribute a voice on key issues as media evolves across different platforms, as well as providing access to training, events and growth opportunities for our in house marketing, media and creative teams,” Leisa Bacon, director of audiences at ABC, said.

Matt Farrugia, CCO and co-founder of Mutinex, added: “Since Mutinex was founded five years ago, we’ve worked closely alongside our partners and friends in the advertising industry to increase the value we can deliver to our customers. We’re pleased to join the AANA to deepen these ties and continue to support marketers in making the best investment decisions they possibly can.”

See also: AANA RESET recap: LEGO, Matildas, Barbie, AB InBev

Meltwater has unveiled strategic partnerships with Microsoft and the Walkley Foundation and two global senior appointments to its executive team and board.

Chris Hackney has joined as chief product officer to lead product organisation and spearhead the strategic direction, expansion, and operation of the company’s product portfolio.

Joining the media monitoring company’s board of directors is Bryan Law, the chief marketing officer at go-to-market data provider, ZoomInfo.

Meltwater has partnered with Microsoft to deliver an integrated communications insights solution for Microsoft’s clients. The collaboration combines Meltwater‘s listening tools and data with Microsoft’s advanced AI technologies.

Business users of Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams, who are Meltwater customers, can easily access real-time insights, such as brand mentions, sentiment analysis, key issues, and competitive benchmarking from within these tools.

It has also partnered with The Walkley Foundation. Ross Candido, vice president, Meltwater ANZ and SEA, said: “Our goal is to integrate business insights seamlessly into everyday business communications. With these new solution updates, users can now access and interact with Meltwater’s analytics tools directly within the applications they already use.

“This means that valuable insights are not only easy to request but are also presented in a user-friendly manner, making it easier to take action and drive strategic decisions. This integration ensures that insights are readily available and actionable within familiar workflows, enhancing overall decision-making processes and time to value.”

Shona Martyn, The Walkley Foundation CEO, added: “We use Meltwater’s media monitoring platform on a daily basis and their services play an integral role in the modern media landscape. We are grateful for their support.”

Meltwater has also introduced the integration of its influencer marketing solutions into its core social media platform. This brings together Klear, Meltwater’s influencer marketing tool, and Engage, its social media management tool. Customers will be able to unify their social media marketing strategies on one platform, removing the barriers between owned and influencer marketing efforts. 

“Our goal is to make accessing and using business insights part of everyday business communications. These solution updates do just that,” Candido said.

“Users can now interact with Meltwater’s analytics tools directly from the core applications they are comfortable working in. As a result, insights are not just a simple request away, but also presented in an easy-to-action, accessible way that drives strategic decisions.”

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Top image: Ross Candido

SBS is celebrating National NAIDOC Week 2024 with curated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content premiering across the network from Saturday 6 July.

The line-up includes extensive multiplatform and multilingual coverage, featuring a variety of new and returning entertainment and current affairs programs, exploring the 2024 NAIDOC Week theme, Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud.

SBS and NITV’s offering is also available on SBS On Demand and includes Big Backyard Quiz, an hour-long game show hosted by Narelda Jacobs OAM and Steven Oliver, with special guests Barkaa, Dave Woodhead, and comedians Tom Ballard, Nina Oyama, Ivan Aristeguieta and Tegan Higginbotham. The program premieres Saturday 13 July at 7:30pm on NITV and SBS.

NITV’s Indigenous current affairs program The Point returns for the year on Tuesday 9 July at 7.30pm for a community-led season to continue tackling the biggest stories on the national agenda.

Animated children’s series Little J & Big Cuz returns for season 4 on NITV on Monday 8 July at 6:05pm, with voice actors including Deborah Mailman, Miranda Tapsell, Aaron Fa’Aoso, Mark Coles Smith and more. This season, Little J and Big Cuz plan the best birthday party ever, undertake an epic road trip, play superheroes, hunt for honey ants, and run a radio station all while learning valuable life lessons along the way.

The SBS Elder-in-Residence Oration returns, presented by Rhoda Roberts AO who this year is joined by special guest, proud Wiradjuri man and renowned journalist Stan Grant.

The Oration provides a dedicated space for elevating First Nations perspectives on issues of local and global importance, and an opportunity for exploration, connection and learning for all Australians. In this year’s oration, Grant shares his reflections on the media and his four-decade career. The oration will broadcast on NITV and SBS On Demand on Sunday 7 July at 6:30pm.

Tanya Denning-Orman, a proud Birri and Guugu Yimidhirr woman and Director of Indigenous Content at SBS, said: “We are proud that as a network we’re sharing more of our stories through NITV and SBS, every day.

“This NAIDOC Week, our content is insightful, celebratory and unapologetically Blak, featuring comedy, family and communities in line with the 2024 NAIDOC theme, Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud.

“At NITV, our important work is possible because of trailblazers whose dedication and commitment forged a path in this industry before us. We’re grateful for another Elder in- Residence Oration which includes two media icons, industry and community leaders, Aunty Rhoda Roberts AO and Stan Grant.”

MOOD is calling on the marketing and advertising industry to support mental health at this year’s City2Surf on 11 August.

The industry-backed purpose-driven tea brand is aiming to rally 100 runners from the industry to join their 60-strong team ‘The Mood Crew’.

The 2024 City2Surf will be The MOOD Crew’s first time taking part in the event, with this year’s crew being made up of participants from industry-leading players such as oOh!, PHD, Spark Foundry, Initiative, EssenceMediacom, dentsu, Carat, iProspect, OMD, Hearts & Science, UnLtd, and the MOOD team.
 
MOOD’s goal is to raise $30,000 to help fund Australian youth mental health programs focused on reducing the stigma around young people seeking help for their mental health. If the team is able to hit the fundraising target, the MOOD Crew will fund 1,000 young people through programs designed to enhance their mental health toolkits.
 
Rachel Troy, general manager of MOOD, said, “We wanted to provide an opportunity for our industry to connect and what better way to do that than by coming together for a good cause?

“As a bonus, the event will give everyone an opportunity to network and bond with colleagues from across the industry, all while helping to set up young Australians to feel more prepared to manage and cope with life, before they hit crisis point.”

Chris Freel, group sales director at oOh!media, said: “We are delighted to team up with our good friends at MOOD and our clients to run in this years’ City2Surf. We know that taking time out to exercise has a positive impact on both your physical and mental health and being able to raise funds to support youth mental health at the same time is a win-win.

“We also get to run past and admire some of the best street furniture in the country, including our new Woollahra network, which will help drag us all round the course.”

MOOD will host a range of team-bonding events in the lead up to City2Surf to better connect the MOOD Crew. This will include a kick-off session at which the team will receive goodie bags containing products from Greenback, No Pong, and MOOD, as well as the MOOD Crew active t-shirt.

Final tickets are on sale now. To join The MOOD Crew in raising funds for youth mental health:

1. Click the link: City2Surf Registration
2. Select “MOOD Crew” when prompted to join a team
3. Choose MOOD as your charity for fundraising

Val Morgan Outdoor (VMO) has announced the launch of the Ultimate Media Champion (UMC), a competition that aims to unite the Australian media industry through health and wellness.

Media agency employees across Australia are invited to register their interest in the competition. From the pool of applicants, 210 individuals will be selected from Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane to be put through their paces in a bespoke “Fitter, Faster, Stronger” program over six weeks beginning in July, ahead of a state-based final event in September.

Paul Butler, managing director of Val Morgan Outdoor, said the aim of the UMC competition is not just about physical fitness.

“With the Ultimate Media Champion, our mission is to bring the industry together, champion the significance of well-being and actively foster a culture of health and wellness among the people we work with on a day-to-day basis,” he said.

“The competition has been designed to include both mental challenges amongst algorithm-based physical challenges, so it’s not about being the fittest and strongest person. Mental health fitness is such an important part of our industry, and this competition reflects that.

“With our network of screens within health and wellness clubs across the country, there’s a seamless alignment for us in partnership with Fitness First and Goodlife to launch this exciting initiative.”

As part of the competition, a male and female champion from each state – NSW, VIC, and QLD – will be crowned the Ultimate Media Champion and walk away with a $5,000 Webjet voucher, a one-year Fitness First or Goodlife membership, plus an exclusive UMC title winners belt.

The launch of the competition comes after Val Morgan Outdoor renewed its partnership with Fitness & Lifestyle Group (FLG) in March. The appointment sees the outdoor media company continuing to represent media within Fitness First, Goodlife Health Clubs, and ZAP Fitness across Australia.

What you need to know about the new ABC drama Ladies in Black set in Sydney, 1961. The women who work in Goodes department store ladieswear face tumultuous times with work and home challenges amidst the fashion transformation of the sixties.

Based on the world and characters of Madeleine St John’s novel, and picking up six months after the events of Bruce Beresford’s film, Ladies in Black dives into the fashion, romance, drama and disappointment of women’s lives at a time of momentous transformation.

Where to watch: ABC TV, iview

See also: Mercado on TV – Ladies in Black transition from film to TV is seamless and brilliant

Miranda Otto (plays VIRGINIA ), Jessica De Gouw (plays FAY), Debi Mazar (plays MAGDA) Ladies in Black key cast

Ladies in Black Synopsis

It’s 1961. Girls are risking arrest to wear bikinis on the beach. Women are faking marriage certificates to get the pill. In the ladieswear department of Goodes it’s all hats, gloves and foundation garments, but for the women who serve behind the counter, the sixties are about to start swinging. The revolution in society and fashion will divide the Ladies in Black and threaten each of their worlds.

Magda, the elegant doyenne of Model Gowns, has a beautiful dream. Her own boutique to nurture new designers and bring original Australian fashion to working women and newly liberated girls. However, a woman can’t take a mortgage or sign a lease without her husband’s signature and Magda’s Stefan makes a risky investment that crushes her dream. Trapped at Goodes, Magda must fight her way back from the bottom to bring her vision to life.

Mrs Ambrose, just arrived from Harrods, is appalled by Australians’ rough and ready approach to customer service. Her clients adore her, and she gives them exactly what they want: conservative, traditional, exclusive. Steely and combative, she has not travelled across the world to throw away a lifetime of experience by thrusting the ladies of Sydney into designs they don’t want to wear. Mrs Ambrose employs every trick to build her empire within the store, but her own secrets could bring her down.

Fay is blissfully happy as the new Mrs Janosi, despite Rudi’s excessive work hours and suggestions of ‘improving’ books, operas and symphonies. His ambitious attempt at expansion left the newlyweds and Magda and Stefan submerged in debt. Fay must put aside plans to start a family and commit to Goodes where she finds herself in the middle of the battle between the conservative old guard and a treacherous leap into risky new fashions. Feeling betrayed by Rudi, she must decide between a life of uncertainty and the simplicity of returning to the way things were.

Lisa is taking the first steps towards her ‘big life’ at university when a sudden tragedy puts her hopes on hold. Forced back to Goodes by financial stress Lisa has difficult choices between work and study, ambition and education, family loyalty and the temptations of the libertarians and their world of university, drinking, sex and philosophical debate. Lisa throws herself into romance, friendship and adventure with a passionate naïveté that could tip her into disaster.

A career in fashion seems an impossible dream for a Lebanese girl from Redfern, but once hired at Goodes, Angela is the perfect addition to ladieswear at Goodes. However, the lies she has told to get herself hired run deep and dangerous. As she thrives within the Ladies in Black family, everyone’s love and loyalty will be put to the test.

Listen to the TV Gold podcast episode featuring a detailed review of Ladies in Black.
Listen here.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

Adapting Ladies in Black for Television

Following on from the 2018 film of the same name and drawing inspiration from the 1993 novel, Ladies in Black, the television adaptation sees the women from Goodes Department Store fling open their shop doors to the fabulous 60s.

A Bunya Entertainment production, directed by Gracie Otto (The Arftul Dodger, The Clearing, Heartbreak High), Ladies in Black takes place in 1961, where amidst this backdrop of major societal shifts, the women embracing more freedom and independence are forced to confront personal choices and challenges which cast shadows over their once cherished dreams.

Bunya Entertainment, a division of Bunya Productions, was looking for strong ideas for television series and its then co-managing director Sophia Zachariou loved the premise of the film, which had been a significant box office hit in Australia. She approached the film’s producers Sue Milliken and Allanah Zitzserman and was able to secure the rights for the TV adaptation. Sophia produced the series with Angela Littlejohn, Greer Simpkin, and David Jowsey.

Writing team

The writing team for Ladies in Black was led by Greg Waters, who had read the novel many years ago while a script executive at the ABC. At the time Greg was keen to see the book adapted for television but the film, to be directed by Oscar-winner Bruce Beresford, was already underway. For the series to now be premiering on the ABC, is a full circle moment for Waters.

“In the first episode all the key characters have something that comes out of the blue and transforms their lives,” he said. “They each begin the series with beautiful dreams but, by the end of episode one, their dreams have been knocked aside and they’re now set off on a completely different path.

“They’re all struggling with the role of women in society. All of them are working women, but there’s a lack of financial freedom. At the time they couldn’t get a mortgage, they couldn’t own a chequebook or have a bank account in their name. For each of them there’s a real struggle between their need for independence and the trap that society has kept them in.”

Apart from Waters, the writing team was all female (Sarah Bassiuoni, Joan Sauers, Randa Sayed) with Sarah and Randa’s Arabic backgrounds helping to ensure the authenticity of the Lebanese family story.

“It’s exciting to have female writers from diverse backgrounds, creating a diverse and very female-focused story,” Waters said.

Director Gracie Otto

“The story is still relevant for audiences today,” said Otto. “People of my mother’s generation can remember those times and for women of my generation and younger, it’s interesting to imagine how few rights women had and to put yourself in that world which is really not so long ago. It’s a great history lesson but it’s also an amazing, fun world with great characters.

“Magda and Ambrose, our older characters, have experienced life as a woman in the 40s and 50s and change is challenging for them. Our young girls Claire and Lisa have so many opportunities ahead of them, whereas Fay, who is in her 30s, is just on the cusp of maybe missing the boat of that change. It’s amazing for me to think how a few years could make such a difference to their lives.”

New characters added for TV series

While some of the original characters from the book and film feature in the series, there are bunch of new characters reflecting Australia’s changing demographic. The character of Angela (Azizi Donnelly), an aspiring fashion designer, is the daughter of Lebanese immigrants and tailors. Mrs Ambrose, played by Miranda Otto, is another new character. She’s just arrived from Harrods. There are gay characters, including a store manager and a window dresser.

Producer Angela Littlejohn said: “The series is very fresh in terms of the new immigrant stories, and especially the female stories. It’s all about family and food and friendship.”

Creating the World of Ladies in Black

The creative team also includes cinematographer Simon Ozolins, whose credits include Deadloch and Heatbreak High, production designer Michael Rumpf (In Limbo, The Bureau of Magical Things), costume designer Marion Boyce (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) and John Logue as makeup and hair designer (Mystery Road, The Newsreader, Australia).

Otto commented: “It’s such an interesting period for television and I was really inspired by shows like The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel and Madmen. The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel finished in 1959 but, obviously it is set in New York and they were more advanced in a lot of things then we were in Australia.”

While set in Sydney, the series was filmed at multiple locations in and around Adelaide which has retained so many more of its heritage buildings than Sydney. The interior of Goodes was a set created by Michael Rumpf and his team at the Adelaide Film Studios. It is the largest set ever built at the studios.

Rumpf used down visual references to department stores from the period from around the world to inspire his design. Australian stores included David Jones, Myer, Foys, Harris Scarf, John Martins and Georges.

About the frocks

Costume designer Marion Boyce said: “I feel very at home in department stores. I’ve spent many hours in department stores, ever since I was a very little child. I have always found high end fashion intoxicating. This is a period I’ve collected for a long period of time, so it was very exciting to use some of my treasures.”

While much of the wardrobe comes from Marion’s collection, she was also in the US just before she started work on the show and bought swathes of fabric there and she also discovered that Adelaide is an extraordinary source of vintage clothes.

Magda (Debi Mazar), Don Holloway (Peter O’Brien) and models in Ladies in Black

“The generosity of people in Adelaide is truly remarkable. The 60s era is now 60 years old, but, for some reason, Adelaide kept a lot of its treasures and kept them intact. In the period where our show is set, women were still wearing frocks below the knee. But people used to wear their clothes for longer and I mostly find that original early 60s dresses were later cut and shortened, making them unusable for a mid-60s period drama. But that wasn’t the case in Adelaide – which was an extraordinary place to shop.”

Several character looks evolved from a hat, including a feathered construction worn by Magda, donated to legendary Australian production company Crawford Productions decades ago. It belonged to a woman whose family owned Melbourne’s historic Princess Theatre.

Marion’s costumes were highlighted by the work of makeup and hair designer John Logue’s work, including several wigs that helped create the looks of Magda, Ambrose, Fay and others.

Ladies in Black Episode Guide

(Beware of spoilers)

EPISODE 1: Beautiful Dream

It’s 1961. Magda’s beautiful dream of transforming Australian women’s fashion is about to be crushed by her husband’s foolish mistake. Without consultation, Stefan has lent money to their friend Rudi. It proves a costly error. Trapped at Goodes she must fight against entrenched conservatism and snobbery to rise from the bottom once again. Her newest antagonist, Mrs Ambrose has just arrived from Harrods and is determined to save the store from adventurous designers and working women. Caught between the two is newlywed Fay, whose plans of starting a family are put on hold by her husband Rudi’s financial risk-taking. Fay faces hard choices about motherhood and career that didn’t figure in her dreams of marriage. The failed loan comes between Fay and Magda when they most need each other’s support.

Magda (Debi Mazar), Elias (Julian Maroun) in Ladies in Black Episode 1

EPISODE 2: Secret Designs

Angela Mansour has got herself into trouble. Claiming to be part of an established retailing family seemed a perfect cover for stealing the look-book of Goodes upcoming designs. Her performance was too good. Goodes offered her a dream job in fashion. Now she must clean up her mess, return the book and hope no one ever discovers her real family business is selling knock-off Goodes designs. Lisa is much too preoccupied with her ‘lost’ night in the bed of her dream man Richard. If only she could remember what happened. Having been unintentionally humiliated by Angela, Lisa resists her overtures of friendship, even though a confidante is exactly what she most needs.

Magda and Mrs Ambrose battle over hierarchy, customers and the direction of Goodes. Mrs Ambrose recruits allies and makes herself indispensable to the senior executives of Goodes. While Magda is distracted by Stefan’s shocking revelation that George, his long-hidden son by a previous marriage, is now in Sydney.

Angela (Azizi Donnelly) in Ladies in Black Episode 2

EPISODE 3: Bikini Wars

Preparation for the Goodes Summer Catalogue brings tensions between Magda and Mrs Ambrose to boiling point. Magda’s is convinced that a vibrant and youthful direction is needed to save the store. Mrs Ambrose and her co-conspirator, Mackenzie are confident they can use Magda’s over-reach to have her sacked. They put the wheels in motion.

Fay becomes the reluctant confidante of a beautiful model, who unloads about her affair with a married man. The unwanted revelations increasingly point towards Rudi being unfaithful. When Marlow emerges as Rudi’s new business partner, Fay finds herself beset by uncertainty. Who can she trust? The husband who is betraying her, or the ex-lover who has lied before.

Lisa’s determination to be published by her university crush, Richard, sees her caught with her hands in the bikini jar. The price of Fay’s silence is Lisa taking Magda’s step-son, George to a ‘Bikini Wars’ photoshoot. Angela is a surprise addition to the outing once she learns that George is the hot pianist who has recently serenaded her. Lisa’s embarrassment at the hands of the ‘in crowd’ brings Angela and George to her defence, sparking an attraction between them.

Magda (Debi Mazar), Lisa (Clare Hughes) in Ladies in Black Episode 3

EPISODE 4: Spring Carnival

Magda experiments with a new range of clothing for ‘Young Sophisticates’. Mrs Ambrose is determined to sabotage it, before the crowds of ‘working girls’ can impact on her wealthy wives buying big for racing season. At Magda’s suggestion Lisa and Angela wear young, sophisticated outfits on the town. Lisa challenges her mousy reputation by springing a surprise revelation the university crowd – to pleasing effect. Lisa is winning the respect and possibly more of her ‘crush’, Richard. Angela’s good intentions melt away as she and George become more deeply involved. Lisa and Angela’s friendship faces a huge test when Magda’s plan to uncover the Goodes design thief confronts Lisa with a very uncomfortable truth.

Mrs Ambrose helps young and ambitious Adam move from loading dock to the sales floor, but the price she extracts may drive a wedge between Adam and Elias. Facing eviction, Elias finds a home with Lisa and a new soulmate in Lisa’s mother Dorothy. But is Lisa ready for a friendship between her staid mother and her flamboyant colleague?

With Rudi increasingly ‘working late’ with frozen foods, Fay reconnects with old friends from her dancing days. The ever-closer business relationship between Rudi and Marlow throws her off balance, especially when she and Rudi are offered the keys to the corporate kingdom by Marlow. A swanky dinner leads to awkward overtures from both Marlow and his wife. When Fay joins with Mrs Ambrose’ clandestine operation at the Spring Carnival, events lead her to a catastrophic error with awful implications.

Virginia Ambrose (Miranda Otto), Fay (Jessica de Gouw) in Ladies in Black Episode 4

EPISODE 5: Men in Briefs

Fay struggles to keep her secret while repairing the damage of her terrible mistake, but Marlow offers her a deal with the devil – he will ensure the success of Rudi’s business but only if Fay reignites their affair. Fay is trapped between Marlow and Rudi and an awful truth that could destroy everything she loves. How can she do what is best, when she doesn’t know what that is?

Magda invites Stefan to move home, and he offers her a way to recover her dream of her own boutique. However, George remains unresolved. Having burnt his bridges with Fay and on thin ice with Angela, he has no choice but to accept humiliation from Magda. Admitting vulnerability may be his first step to reconciliation.

Determined to capitalise on her success with a celebrity wedding dress, Magda plans a promotion that will challenge the traditional image of Goodes. Her praise for Angela’s contribution to the wedding dress design blinds Angela to the growing risk her divided loyalties will be exposed. Lisa and Angela paper over the cracks in their friendship by going all in with Magda’s plans. Lisa also sees a chance to win points with Richard, and get her first story published, but in the messy cross-over between sex and ambition it is unclear who is taking advantage of whom. The line between adventurous new direction and destroying Goodes reputation also proves to be treacherous. The subterranean split within the store forces friends, including Elias and Adam, apart. Although the launch of the male bikini brief seems a success at first, it precipitates a series of revelations that splits the ladies in black irrevocably and sees one of them sacked.

EPISODE 6: New Season

Bitter over her sacking, Angela succumbs to family pressure and agrees to recreate Goodes most exclusive design for her sister-in-law’s wedding dress. With her mother back from Beirut and the family full steam ahead on wedding preparations, Angela has to lie about catching up with Lisa in order to find time and space to continue her affair with George. When Lisa finally discovers them together, her revelation of George’s behaviour at Fay’s forces George to confront the necessity of sorting out his relationship with Stefan before he can offer love to anyone else. Lisa’s intertwined personal and professional relationship with Richard is full steam ahead, but be careful what you wish for. Richard’s plans for the future aren’t exactly aligned to Lisa’s big dreams.

Utterly routed by Mrs Ambrose, Magda’s last days at Goodes are spent planning an exclusive showing of Ambrose’ favoured designs and planning for her new boutique. Angela is stunned when Magda suggests that they might work together on a new Australian range. The clothes created by Angela and her family come into their own when Mrs Ambrose is convinced to change tack and offer Magda a chance to win back her place at Goodes.

Fay’s desperate attempt to enlist Mrs Marlow fails, but opens the door to Mrs Ambrose, who encourages Fay to rely on the truth to save her marriage. Will Fay break her husband’s heart in order to ease her conscience?

When Lisa and Angela find themselves out of their depth emotionally, both girls’ mothers must intervene to clarify the implications of becoming too dependent upon others. Strengthened by the triumph of an exclusive showing that combines the visions of Ambrose, Magda and Angela, Angela and Lisa make hard decisions that will keep their dreams alive.

Magda (Debi Mazar), Fay (Jessica de Gouw) in Ladies in Black, Episode 5

Ladies in Black Cast

Cast list with career highlights

Lead trio: Debi Mazar (Younger, Entourage), Miranda Otto (The Clearing, Talk To Me) and Jessica De Gouw (The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, The Secret She Keeps).

Supporting cast: Kate Box (Deadloch, Wentworth), 2022 NIDA graduate Clare Hughes, Azizi Donnelly (Secret Society of Lies), Julian Maroun (Aftertaste), Carlos Sanson Jr (Bump), Tom Wilson (Heartbreak High), Sacha Horler (The Letdown), Huw Higginson (Total Control), Russell Dykstra (Rake), Thom Green (Of an Age), Hamish Michael (The Twelve), Krew Boylan (Simply Red), Ngali Shaw (The Twelve), Hazem Shammas (The Clearing), Peter O’Brien (Tidelands), Gemma Ward (While The Men Are Away) and Todd McKenney (Significant Others).

Who’s Who in Ladies in Black

Magda Szombathelyi (Debi Mazar)

Debi Mazar (Magda) in Ladies in Black

Polish-born Magda grew up in the sophisticated, cosmopolitan bourgeoisie destroyed by WWII. Fluent in multiple languages and accomplished in music, arts, design and fashion, Magda’s position as the doyenne of Sydney’s elite ladies rests on her old-world glamour and exquisite taste. Magda’s unique life experience has made her resilient, but also flexible and adaptable. Magda sees the coming 1960s as a revolution in role of women and the way they dress. The women of the sixties will be independent, they will work, they will dress for themselves not to please fathers or find husbands. Magda believes that young women and working women have the same right to beautiful, high- quality fashion as the trophy wives of the eastern suburbs. On the brink of realising the dream of her own boutique, Magda’s ever-reliable husband Stefan makes a foolish investment, and Magda is trapped at Goodes. Worse, Stefan reveals a long-hidden secret son from an earlier marriage who crashes into their lives. Magda must work her way up once again while questioning everything she has come to rely on in life.

Debi Mazar on her character Magda

“I’ve chosen to make Magda from Poland. In the script, she says ‘I’ve had so many losses’, so I created a back story for her. She is now married to Stefan, who is Hungarian, but I imagine that she might have been married to someone who was Jewish at one point, and I feel that she lost a baby. She came from a good family, she’s very educated. But Magda’s life has not been easy.

“She’s now in her 50’s, in Australia, and her dream has always been to have her own boutique, her own business. She is someone who sees the future of fashion. At this point, when she comes into Goodes department store, she begins a job that is very nice for her. It’s a safe place and it’s a very well-respected department store but it’s held back in time. I equate it to the McCarthy era in the United States, which is where I grew up, where women were wearing poodle skirts, everything was bound by bras and tightness and structured in a way that can be quite matronly. My grandmother would wear gloves and stockings, and it was all lovely and feminine, but at a certain point, as we moved into the early to mid-60s, I remember my mother going from wearing those sort of matronly shift dresses, to all of a sudden, she had a breakout and was wearing jeans with peace signs and suede boots and no bra.

“Magda has been through World War II, she’s arrived in Sydney, and there’s the hope of newness. But at Goodes she’s surrounded by all these stuffy men controlling the way things are, as a woman she cannot sign her own lease for the boutique that she wants, and she can’t even have her own bank account. So, we meet Magda at a really big time of change in the world in general. Women were no longer going to stay in the kitchen and just cook and pump out babies. Her dream is to have her own shop which celebrates women and changes the way that people see fashion in Australia. She is quite fashion forward. She has got great ideas. She has the vision.

“Australia wasn’t ever at the top of my list of countries that I needed to come to first, but I read the script and Greg and the writers have written an incredible series. I really love the character. I related to Magda a lot because my grandmother was from Riga, in Latvia, from a good family, and she married a Jewish man. But because he was Jewish, and it was wartime, he had to escape. She stayed but then her country was occupied. My grandmother went through a lot of similar things as Magda.

“When I had my first call with Marian, our costume designer, it was incredible because she had been buying fabrics from a place that I used to shop in called International Silks and Woollens, in Beverly Hills. Marion was shopping from all over the world to find vintage and the right pieces and when she showed me what I was going to wear, it was the exact vision that I had for Magda.”

About Debi Mazar

Debi Mazar is well known for her roles in the likes of Goodfellas, Batman Forever and Entourage and is based in Italy. She co-starred in Darren Starr’s series Younger. Recent releases include The Pentaverate (Netflix), The Kill Room and the upcoming Kaos.

Miranda Otto (Mrs Ambrose)

Virginia Ambrose (Miranda Otto) in Ladies in Black

Hired from Harrods of London to replace Magda in Model Gowns, Virginia refers constantly, if obliquely, to the duchesses she has dressed, as if she were born to ducal estates and great houses. She was not. Only by deception and sheer force of will was Virginia able to scramble into a career in retail, clambering from cleaner, to stockroom, to sales assistant to a senior role in the most exclusive departments of Harrods. She changed her accent, her walk, her history and her class, preferring to embrace the hauteur of a fallen aristocrat rather than the reality of an arriviste on the make. Virginia attempts to forge a new life in Sydney, but she is stuck with all her old tools, snobbery, guile, rigidity, contempt and a devotion to managing up that comes from a place of terrible fear. Mrs Ambrose has a secret that has followed her from London and could threaten her place as the high priestess to Sydney’s most fashionable women. Virginia Ambrose may be a fearsome martinet, but customer service in Australia is genuinely abysmal, and Virginia is a true believer in her career. The junior colleagues who disparage her will learn a lot from Virginia including the fact that there is a warm heart beneath her icy glare.

Miranda Otto on her character Mrs Ambrose

“Virginia Ambrose or Mrs. Ambrose, as she likes to be called, comes into the story as the antagonist. She provokes a lot of things in the department. As a character Virginia is like one of those presents where it’s a box, within a box, within a box, you keep opening one thing, and then there’s something else inside. When I read the character, I thought there were so many little surprises that kept opening up. She asserts herself in a certain way and you think that she’s one particular thing. But then you discover there’s a lot more to Virginia; she’s quite mysterious, in some ways.

“I loved the movie, Ladies in Black, and I loved the book. I loved the idea of the public and the private lives of a group of people who worked in a department store, and particularly the relationships between the different women, and a time where we were on the of eve of social change. And then, when I read the scripts, I just loved the characters and the opportunity to pay homage to that era of the department store when it was such an aspirational place and where service was impeccable. People went for the special experience of going to a very beautiful store. It’s something that, in this day and age of online shopping, is being lost.”

“Mrs Ambrose arrives from London ready to assert herself – to put her stamp on Goodes and feels that she’s a valuable contributor to the aesthetics of the store. She very much comes from a service point of view – understanding the customer’s full needs very much from the angle of class and discretion and taste. Whereas Magda’s view of fashion is about self-expression and revolution and joy and so they butt heads over that. It takes them a while to learn to be in the same space.

“It has been excellent to work with Gracie again; not only because I think Gracie is fantastic – and obviously she’s my sister – but also because of the shorthand that you have working with someone that you’ve worked with before. We worked together for the first time on The Clearing. I think she’s done just such an awesome job with Ladies in Black. She brings an awesome energy to the set. You kind of tell that Gracie has played a lot of sport because she understands the team; she inspires the team and keeps the team’s energy going. She keeps that energy flow through the day and always comes to set with a strong plan and a strong method of attack, but then is also being able to rally in different ways when things change, as they often do on set. I think is an enormous strength of Gracie’s.”

About Miranda Otto

Miranda Otto has a career spanning decades across the stage and screen. Miranda’s feature film credits include The Thin Red Line, What Lies Beneath, War of the Worlds, Flight of the Phoenix, The Homesman, Love Serenade, Reaching for the Moon and her portrayal of Éowyn in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Miranda’s performance in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King earned her a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. In 2016, Miranda was awarded the AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in The Daughter, opposite Sam Neill and Geoffrey Rush. In 2020, she was seen opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell in Fox Searchlight’s Downhill.

Highlights of Miranda’s television credits include the roles of Allison Carr in Showtime and Fox 21’s Emmy Award-winning series Homeland and Aunt Zelda in Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.

For her performance as Lindy Chamberlain in the drama series Through My Eyes, she was awarded the TV Week Silver Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series.

Miranda has also worked extensively in theatre, including a memorable role in the Sydney Theatre Company’s Boy Gets Girl. Her performance as Nora in the production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, also with Sydney Theatre Company, won her the 2003 Mo Award for Female Actor in Play of the Year.

Miranda enjoyed a return home to star in critically acclaimed ABC drama series, Fires and Australian comedy drama series The Unusual Suspects. Most recently, she starred alongside Celeste Barber in Netflix comedy series Wellmania and can be seen in Disney+ /HULU’s psychological thriller, The Clearing opposite Guy Pearce and Teresa Palmer. Miranda can next be seen on television in upcoming television series Thou Shalt Not Steal.

Otto reunited with Sam Neill and stars alongside Christoph Waltz in in The Jim Henson Company fantasy adventure film, The Portable Door, as well as Danny and Michael Philippo’s Australian horror film, Talk to Me which premiered at Sundance Film Festival.

Fay Janosi née Baines (Jessica De Gouw)

Fay (Jessica de Gouw) in Ladies in Black

Fay grew up poor but pretty in Sydney’s down-at-heel inner city. She got a taste of the spotlight as a Tivoli dancer, and a taste for fun as a ‘kept woman’ for a discreet businessman. When he disappeared ‘to Perth’, Fay reinvented herself as a sales assistant at Goodes. After a whirlwind romance, she was swept into marriage with Hungarian man on the rise, Rudi Janosi. Fay is struggling to find her sea legs as a wife and potential mother. Loving as Rudi is, he takes his role as Pygmalion to his ‘healthy Aussie bride’ a bit too seriously. His helpful suggestions can feel like judgement. Fay genuinely wishes she could throw herself into love and family. But she has been burnt before and knows what it is like to be hungry in a house full of misery. Fay has a natural poise and grace, polished by working with customers in the most exclusive department in elegant Goodes, but there is a strain of sadness and insecurity that she struggles to overcome. When Rudi’s ambition and over – confidence create financial difficulty for his own family, and his friends Stefan and Magda, Fay must face the dilemma of whether to have children when her marriage is suddenly uncertain.

Jessica De Gouw on her character Fay

“Fay is so many things! She comes from a slightly different past and history to the other women. And she treads the line between Magda and Virginia and then Lisa and Angela – she’s somewhere in the middle in terms of her age and her experience. She’s a fascinating character because she is, in one sense, very empowered and capable in the Goode’s department store. But then, at the same time, she’s starting out this life as a newly married woman and none of its quite fitting right. She’s madly in love with her husband but struggling in the domestic sphere and struggling with the expectations of being a wife in 1961. She’s a wonderful contradiction of a woman.

“I wanted to be part of Ladies in Black because I felt that, with Bunya and the ABC, we had very safe and capable hands telling the story and I also knew that they would do something fresh and exciting, and they would make it relevant. I don’t think there’s any need to revisit a story unless you’re doing something fresh and challenging and relevant. The scripts were beautiful with beautiful character journeys, which is always very exciting as an actor. And then also the fact that it was a very, very female show between the characters and Gracie and the producers.

“Fay’s look is wonderfully different to my own. Very early on I was having conversations with John Logue, our hair and makeup designer, about what Fay could look like and he was very collaborative. We were throwing images and references back and forth to each other – and decided that Fay might be a redhead and that we could create something interesting that spoke to her point of difference. Fay is someone who had another life before Goode’s. She worked at the Trocadero; she was somewhat more risqué than the women she’s now surrounded by, so we wanted to give her that edge, that sense of her history and her spiciness.”

About Jessica De Gouw

Jessica recently completed the Netflix feature film The Union alongside Mark Wallberg, Halle Berry and JK Simmons. Her other recent feature films include The Portable Door produced by the The Jim Henson Company, directed by Jeffrey Walker and starring Sam Neil and Christoph Waltz, and The Drover’s Wife which had its international premiere at SXSW, starring alongside Sam Reid and Leah Purcell, who also directed. Prior to that Jessica starred opposite Laura Carmichael in two series of BBC One and Paramount+ hit drama The Secrets She Keeps, an adaptation of Michael Robotham’s bestselling novel, and in the DC Comics and Epix series Pennyworth.

Jessica’s prior film credits include Otherlife directed by Ben C Lucas, These Final Hours written and directed by Zak Hilditch, The Rezort opposite Dougray Scott and directed by Steve Barker, Cut Snake opposite Alex Russell and Sullivan Stapleton for director Tony Ayres, and Gretel and Hansel alongside Sophia Lillis and Alice Krige and directed by Oz Perkins.

Jessica’s most recent television series include The Artful Dodger for Hulu and The Couple Next Door playing opposite Sam Heughan. Previous television credits include a leading role alongside Ewen Leslie and James Cromwell in the award-winning ABC mini-series Operation Buffalo, series 3 of The Crown for Netflix, BBC 2 series Vienna Blood opposite Matthew Beard, and in 4-part SBS series The Hunting with Sam Reid, Richard Roxburgh, Pamela Rabe and Asher Keddie.

Previously Jessica appeared in acclaimed ABC telemovie RIOT alongside Damon Herriman, and two seasons of the award-winning WGN series Underground executive produced by Akiva Goldsman and John Legend. The show broke records as the most-watched program on the network. She played a recurring role in Billy Ray’s Amazon series The Last Tycoon opposite Matt Bomer, Lily Collins and Kelsey Grammer, and played The Huntress in Greg Berlanti’s popular CW series Arrow. Earlier she starred in miniseries Deadline Gallipoli alongside Sam Worthington for Foxtel and was the co-lead opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Dracula for NBC. Her earlier Australian TV credits include The Mystery of a Hansom Cab, Tricky Business, Crownies and Underbelly.

Jessica is currently filming The Survivors which will be globally released on Netflix.

Lisa Miles (Clare Hughes)

Lisa (Clare Hughes) in Ladies in Black

Lisa believes she is transforming herself from mousy suburban schoolgirl, to a star of Sydney University’s intellectual elite. Unfortunately, the leading lights of student life barely notice her, and if she does draw attention to herself, dismiss her as ‘the Bexley virgin’. Lisa knows she has a talent as a writer. But talent is not enough, the boys club who run SUDS and Honi Soit and even more importantly the libertarian booth at the pub, only notice girls who are pretty and precocious and who ‘put out’. And if having sex with a campus lion is the price of a ‘big life’ then what’s the catch? Just as Lisa gets her first foot in the door of the student newspaper, she is knocked sideways by the death of her father and adds poor and part-time to the impediments to her glittering ambitions. Goodes becomes her haven, for as many shifts as she can manage. Lisa is smart and warm and a passionate friend. She is intellectually curious, adventurous and bursting with idealism. But she is also so naive that she doesn’t even know how much she doesn’t know until her inexperience gets her into trouble. Still trouble can feel a lot like adventure up until the moment you crash. Although the day will come when Lisa will be a singular even stubborn personality, right now she is a moth to a flame falling under the spell of Magda, then Angela, then Richard seeking herself in the approval and imitation of others.

Claire Hughes on her character Lisa

“I’m a bit of a history nerd, so anything where I get to immerse myself in a world that’s very different in terms of the costumes and the hair and makeup is really fun. And the scripts are amazing with such incredible female roles. Lisa is a treat.

“Lisa is 18 and she is working part time at Goodes on the weekends, while studying at Sydney University. She has ambitions to become a writer and she’s desperately trying to get her articles published in the student newspaper – and she has a lot going on at home. She’s trying to balance all of that and work out who she is. She’s discovering boys and sex and drinking which is all very new to her.

“Once Lisa sets her mind on something, she’ll gun for it. She’s very curious about boys and love and decides that Richard, the editor of Honi Soit, is the right one for her – I think she falls in love with the idea of him.

“She’s writing about the pill and has a lot of feminists ideals in her head, but she’s constantly coming up against ‘the boys’ telling her what to do. I do admire that she puts them in their place.

“Her work clothes are vastly different to what she wears outside of Goodes. She’s definitely going for the beatnik look. She’s being the alternative writer of her dreams; she’s really into French cinema. She finds her style as we progress through the series – she starts wearing pants, which was unusual for women at the time, and they make her feel empowered.”

Angela Mansour (Azizi Donnelly)

Angela (Azizi Donnelly) in Ladies in Black

Born in Australia into a Lebanese family, Angela grew up in the small community of Arabic-speaking rag-traders and restaurateurs in Redfern. Fashion has been the family business for generations but Angela’s dreams reach far beyond copying European fashions from out-of-date magazines. Angela is bursting with vision for her own original designs, but the idea of an Australian fashion designer is outlandish, that she might be young and female is preposterous, and that she might be a working class, bi-lingual immigrant is so unthinkable that Angela cannot even articulate the ambition herself. Her intense closeness to her family is a joy and a burden. Their admiration and dependence on her gives her strength. But the demands on her time, energy and emotion are constant, and feel like they could become a road-block to her future success. Especially as her brother is about to marry a bridezilla, and her parent’s marriage may be splitting between their dual cultures. Angela is warm, sensual and open-hearted. But she has also absorbed her family’s culture of sexual rectitude and monogamy into her bones. The idea of dating without her family’s approval is anathema. Angela is quick-witted, and silver-tongued. But that tongue can be razor sharp when she loses her (fiery) temper. She can be sly and shrewd and willing to take risks. But she is also generous, thoughtful and loyal. Although young, Angela has a very clear idea of who she is, and is not about to be pushed around by friend, foe or boyfriend.

Azizi Donnelly on her character Angela

“What made me want to be a part of Ladies in Black is that I’ve always wanted to do a period piece. I’m obsessed with the 60s and 70s and I have a lot of similarities with Angela Mansour. My mum was a fashion designer back in the day and we’re Lebanese Australian. I was also very excited to work with Gracie Otto.

“Angela is a 22-year-old Lebanese girl born in Australia. She’s a fiery, passionate and ambitious young girl. She moves between the world of Goodes and the world of the Mansour family, and her story is about discovering herself and going after her ambitions and dreams as a fashion designer.

“Angela’s very different in each of those worlds, which was fun to play. When she’s at home with her family, they are very passionate, very expressive people; but at Goodes she’s trying to fit in. Angela feels constrained by society’s expectations. She doesn’t really have any role models to look up to in terms of what she desires being an original fashion designer. So she’s breaking a boundary; she’s doing something that hasn’t been done in her family or in her culture in Australia. So she has to be to go after that dream.”

About Azizi Donnelly

Azizi Frances Donnelly was born in Paddington, Sydney, Australia to her Lebanese mother and Irish father. Azizi comes from a family of four children, having three brothers, all younger.

Azizi graduated high school in Australia where she was raised by her mother, a fashion designer. Azizi spent much of her younger years with her Lebanese grandparents in Annandale, a small suburb in the inner west of Sydney. In her late teens Azizi took on acting, majoring in drama at her high school and participating in summer programs at the Australian Theatre for Young People. At 18 Azizi moved herself to New York City to expand her opportunities in film and television.

Azizi’s most recent work can be seen in films and television shows such as Secret Society of Lies and Lifetime TV.

Ladies in Black: The key creatives

Sophia Zachariou – Producer

Sophia Zachariou is producer and until recently co-managing director of Bunya Entertainment. The company is part of the Bunya Media Group and was set up by Sophia Zachariou, Greer Simpkin and David Jowsey as co-managing directors to focus on commercially driven screen projects for a global audience.

Through Bunya Entertainment, Sophia produced the 2021 six-part comedy series The Moth Effect for Amazon Prime Originals. The series was nominated for Best Comedy at the 2020 AACTA Awards.

In 2023, Sophia produced the international comedy format The Office Australia, starring Felicity Ward. The Office Australia is the company’s second commission, alongside BBC Studios with Amazon Originals and will screen on Prime Video in 2024.

Prior to creating Bunya Entertainment, Sophia was the Create NSW Director of Screen Investment, Engagement and Attraction leading the screen program for NSW for a number of years. During her time at the agency, Sophia oversaw the commissioning of award-winning productions such as Warwick Thornton’s, Sweet Country, Rachel Perkins’ Mystery Road, Nash Edgerton’s Mr Inbetween and Jeffrey Walker’s Riot.

Angela Littlejohn – Producer

Angela is a screen producer and executive who has worked in the film and TV industry for the past 30 years in the UK, New Zealand and Australia. She worked as Drama Co-Production Executive and Programme Finance Manager for Channel 4 drama and Film4 and oversaw productions including Trainspotting, Secrets and Lies, Velvet Goldmine, Queer as Folk, Longitude and Sword of Honour.

Her TV producing credits include Cleverman Season 1 & 2. She co-produced Channel 4’s BAFTA winning Not Only But Always starring Rhys Ifans and was Series Producer on Pukeko Picture’s pre-school animation TV series Kiddets, the first NZ/China official TV co-production.

In 2019 she joined Bunya Productions and produced Ivan Sen’s Loveland, and Leah Purcell’s The Drovers Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson, alongside Greer Simpkin and David Jowsey. She returned to NZ in 2020 and produced feature films, Matthew J Saville’s Juniper (starring Charlotte Rampling) and Michelle Savill’s Millie Lies Low.

Her recent TV credits include 6-part comedy drama series In Limbo for the ABC. She is currently in production on a Studio Canal film, Kangaroo, directed by Kate Wood.

Greer Simpkin – Producer

Greer Simpkin is co-managing director of the Bunya Media Group. Since joining Bunya, Greer has produced the award-winning feature films Limbo, Sweet Country, Goldstone, High Ground, Loveland, The Drover’s Wife – The Legend of Molly Johnson and was an executive producer on Jasper Jones. Greer is currently producing Rebel Wilson’s debut feature The Deb and the Studio Canal feature Kangaroo.

Greer has produced all three series of award-winning television drama series Mystery Road as well as the SBS mini-series True Colours and the ABC comedy In Limbo.

David Jowsey – Producer

In 2008, David Jowsey formed BUNYA Productions with auteur filmmaker Ivan Sen. David produced Toomelah by Ivan Sen, selected in Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2011. David produced the 2011 Sundance selected feature Mad Bastards by Brendan Fletcher and Satellite Boy by Catriona McKenzie which premiered at Toronto 2012 and Berlin 2013. David produced Ivan Sen’s Mystery Road film which received a Special Presentation at Toronto 2013. In 2015 David produced Jasper Jones, based on the best-selling novel and directed by Rachel Perkins, as well as Ivan Sen’s Goldstone which premiered in Toronto’s 2016 Platfom Section. David Jowsey produced Sweet Country by Warwick Thornton, which won the Special Jury Prize at Venice 2017 and the Platform Prize at Toronto 2017. In 2018 David produced the award-winning series Mystery Road. David produced High Ground in 2019 which premiered at Berlin. Across 2019/20 he produced Mystery Road Series 2 which premiered in Berlin Series, as well as the features Loveland by Ivan Sen and The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson by Leah Purcell which premiered at SXSW.

Gracie Otto – Director

Gracie was set-up director on the reboot of Netflix’s Top 10 series Heartbreak High which won an International Emmy for Best Kids: Live-Action Series and she was nominated for an AACTA Award for Best Direction in Drama or Comedy in 2022. She set up season two of the series.

Gracie has directed on the Disney+ series The Artful Dodger starring David Thewlis and Thomas Brodie-Sangster. Prior to this she directed The Clearing for Disney + starring Teresa Palmer, Miranda Otto and Guy Pearce and Deadloch, a feminist noir comedy, for Amazon Studios.

Greg Waters – Writer/Script Producer

Greg was a writer and script producer on The Twelve for Easy Tiger, Warner and Foxtel. Greg wrote for New Gold Mountain (Goalpost and SBS) and shared the AWGIE for best mini-series. He also wrote award-winning telemovie Riot (Werner Film Productions and ABC) and was nominated for an AWGIE and the NSW Premiers Literary Award. Riot won the AACTA for best mini-series or telefeature.

Greg has written and script produced Secret City (Matchbox and Foxtel), The New Legends of Monkey (See Saw and Netflix). He was script producer of The Letdown (Giant Dwarf and ABC), The Other Guy (Aquarius and Stan). He was the executive producer of Soul Mates and series producer of Soul Mates II (Van Vuuren Bros, ABC, SeeSo).

Production credits

A Bunya Entertainment production.

Major production investment from the ABC, South Australian Film Corporation and Screen Australia
Financed with support from Screen NSW
Producers: Sophia Zachariou, Angela Littlejohn, Greer Simpkin, David Jowsey
Executive Producers: Greg Waters, Sue Milliken, Allanah Zitserman
ABC Executive Producers: Rachel Okine & Louise Smith
Distributed by ABC Commercial

Thursday 13 June 2024: VOZ Total TV Ratings Overnight Top 30 – Programs ranked on reach

Total People TV Ratings

Nine’s NRL – Sharks v Dolphins recorded a total TV national reach of 1,404,000, a total TV national audience of 560,000, and a BVOD audience of 66,000.

Nine’s Swimming Trials recorded a total TV national reach of 1,287,000, a total TV national audience of 550,000, and a BVOD audience of 43,000.

Seven’s The Chase Australia recorded a total TV national reach of 1,431,000, a total TV national audience of 700,000.

Also on Seven, Home & Away recorded a total TV national reach of 1,417,000, a total TV national audience of 726,000, and a BVOD audience of 79,000.

10’s airing of Taskmaster Australia recorded a total TV national reach of 923,000, a total TV national audience of 397,000, and a BVOD audience of 18,000.

See Also: TV Report 13 June 2024: Dolphins secure first ever NRL win in Sydney

People 25-54

Nine’s Sharks v Dolphins:
• Total TV nation reach: 497,000
• National Audience: 227,000
• BVOD Audience: 39,000

Nine’s Swimming Trials:
• Total TV nation reach: 374,000
• National Audience: 159,000
• BVOD Audience: 22,000

10’s Taskmaster:
• Total TV nation reach: 384,000
• National Audience: 214,000 
• BVOD Audience: 12,000

Seven’s Home & Away:
• Total TV nation reach: 469,000
• National Audience: 233,000
• BVOD Audience: 44,000

People 16-39

Nine’s Sharks v Dolphins:
• Total TV nation reach: 252,000
• National Audience: 112,000
• BVOD Audience: 25,000

Nine’s Swimming Trials:
• Total TV nation reach: 146,000
• National Audience: 70,000
• BVOD Audience: 12,000

10’s Taskmaster:
• Total TV nation reach: 167,000
• National Audience: 109,000 
• BVOD Audience: 7,000

Seven’s Home & Away:
• Total TV nation reach: 186,000
• National Audience: 101,000
• BVOD Audience: 26,000

Grocery Shoppers 18+

Nine’s Sharks v Dolphins:
• Total TV nation reach: 1,064,000
• National Audience: 424,000
• BVOD Audience: 51,000

Nine’s Swimming Trials:
• Total TV nation reach: 971,000
• National Audience: 421,000
• BVOD Audience: 34,000

10’s Taskmaster:
• Total TV nation reach: 717,000
• National Audience: 310,000 
• BVOD Audience: 15,000

Seven’s Home & Away:
• Total TV nation reach: 1,101,000
• National Audience: 571,000
• BVOD Audience: 64,000

Data © OzTAM and Regional TAM 2024. Not to be reproduced, published or communicated (electronically or in hard copy) in whole or in part, without prior written consent of OzTAM and Regional TAM.

TV Report 16 June 2024:

Nine TV Report

Travel Guides

Nine’s evening began with Travel Guides.

The guides flew into buzzing Hong Kong, to see the sights and savour the city’s food scene. They learned how to lion dance, compete in dragon boat racing and learn the ancient martial art of Tai Chi.

NRL – Knights v Panthers

The Knights v Panthers game on Nine saw the Panthers dominate, winning the game 26-18 at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle.

Seven TV Report

Dream Home

On Seven, Dream Home saw the judges deliver their verdict on what was the most explosive and emotional build to date.

7NEWS Spotlight

The program conducted an investigation into possible solutions to youth crime in Australia. Parents, victims and experts offered insights and revealed why the situation is becoming out of control.

10 TV Report

The Sunday Project

The Sunday Project looked into Kate Middleton’s first public appearance in months and spoke to Recipe Tin Eats’ Nagi Maehashi and Keala Settle.

MasterChef Australia

On 10’s MasterChef Australia, two tough rounds tested the cooks. First, Zumbo’s Macaron Taste Test and then, a coffee-inspired dessert cooks, with the weakest dish seeing its maker eliminated from the competition.

ABC

Spicks and Specks

Dan Sultan, Lou Wall, Nina Korbe and Dave O’Neil join Adam, Myf and Alan in a who-knows-what of music trivia. There was be bangers, smashes, blinders and delights, with a healthy dose of Cover Versions and weird collabs.

After the Party

Following Spicks and Specks was Austin, as Austin invites Julian and Ingrid home to have lunch with his embarrassing family.

SBS

Lost World of Angkor Wat

Laser surveys lead the team to undiscovered jungle temples. A dirt bike mission to a mountain city holds clues to the origins of the empire, and in Laos, ground penetrating radar reveals how kings take new territory.