If there’s one thing as reliable as drama in Summer Bay, it’s someone misreading the situation.
Specsavers has renewed its partnership with Seven’s Home and Away for 2026, bringing a new round of ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’ creative to television, streaming and social platforms.
Developed in partnership with 7RED Engine, the campaign builds on the concept introduced in 2025, with storylines including a wedding, a caravan mix-up and a mistaken beachside encounter.
Expansion into audiology
Specsavers Head of Marketing, Awareness & Consideration, Anri McHugh, said audience response to last year’s campaign helped shape the decision to expand the partnership for 2026.
“The response on social media to last year’s partnership showed us there was a real appetite for this kind of creative collaboration,” she said.
According to McHugh, the campaign gave Specsavers an opportunity to place its long-running creative platform in a fan environment with an established, engaged audience, rather than running a traditional brand campaign.
The latest instalment also sees the return of fan-favourite character Keith, alongside a number of new faces and storylines designed to create fresh ‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’ moments.
The new campaign continues the “mini soap within a soap” concept introduced last year, with three new executions centred on a wedding, a caravan mix-up and a mistaken beachside encounter.
The campaign also introduces hearing-related storylines for the first time.
The campaign also marks the first time Specsavers has incorporated its audiology business into the Home and Away partnership, with one of the new storylines centred on a hearing-related misunderstanding.
Head of Marketing Audiology, Emma Kershaw, said the integration provided an opportunity to extend the long-running “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” platform into a new category while raising awareness of hearing health.
“It gives us a meaningful opportunity to challenge perceptions around hearing loss – helping people to see it as a normal part of ageing – while staying true to our distinctive, approachable tone,” she said.
Campaign runs across Seven platforms
Seven National Television Sales Director Katie Finney said the partnership had been extended for 2026.
“Home and Away continues to be an unrivalled ratings powerhouse, and this renewed partnership proves the enduring value of clever, contextually relevant storytelling. By leaning directly into our unique fan culture with fresh storylines and the introduction of hearing-related mishaps, Specsavers has evolved the campaign perfectly for 2026,” Finney said.
7RED Engine Head of Creative Ben Fletcher said the latest campaign builds on the creative partnership established between Specsavers and Home and Away last year.
“It’s always a pleasure collaborating with Specsavers, who put a lot of trust in the creative potential of the series and championed it from the start,” he said.
The new campaign continues the “mini soap” format introduced in 2025, with fresh storylines and returning characters designed to extend the fictional world created around the sponsorship.
According to Fletcher, the latest executions provided an opportunity to further develop those characters while creating new moments for audiences across television, streaming and social platforms.
Bespoke content
The sponsorship was planned and executed by EssenceMediacom and will run across Seven’s broadcast, streaming and social platforms.
EssenceMediacom Melbourne Group Director – Implementation & Activation Remona Salem said the latest campaign builds on the partnership established between Specsavers and Home and Away last year, with new storylines and characters introduced across the creative assets.
According to Salem, the campaign has been designed to extend the sponsorship across multiple touchpoints, combining television, streaming and social media activity.
“Leveraging the iconic backdrop of Palm Beach, we’ve created three new 15-second TVCs that will rotate weekly for viewers to follow along,” she said.
The campaign will run nationally across the Seven Network, including linear television and 7plus, and will be supported by bespoke behind-the-scenes social content designed to complement the on-air executions.
“This integrated campaign delivers a national footprint across the Seven Network, spanning linear TV, 7plus streaming, and bolstered by three custom, behind-the-scenes social assets to further engage audiences,” Salem said.
Credits
Specsavers ANZ
Dominic Savill, Trading Director
Shaun Briggs, Director of Marketing Customer Attraction
Anri McHugh, Head of Marketing Awareness & Consideration
Emma Kershaw, Head of Marketing Audiology
Imogen Blaskett, Marketing Manager, Awareness & Consideration – Optics
Gab Panther, Marketing Manager, Awareness & Consideration – Audiology
Seven and 7RED Engine
Ben Fletcher, Head of 7RED Engine
James Falzon, Director of Creative and Design Operations
Samantha Power, Senior Creative / Director
Sarah Taylor, Senior Creative / Writer / Editor
Chris Seeto, Producer
Simon Koloadin, Director of Photography
Natalie Verriest, Art Director
Cameron Jones, Campaign Manager
Sally Welsh, Group Strategy and Partnerships Manager
Lucy Piccolo, Group Business Director
EssenceMediacom
Remona Salem, Group Director – Implementation & Activation
Maddison Jones, Associate Director – Implementation & Activation
Anthony O’Callaghan, Head of Investment
Matt Ridsdale, Client Partner
Jeremy McNamara, General Manager