CB Spotlight on AWARD Creative Team of the Year Jake Ausburn and Alex Polglase: “Fireworks every night and car crashes every morning”

Earlier this year AWARD Creative Team of the Year Jake Ausburn and Alex Polglase departed The Monkeys, packed up their lives and headed to sunny L.A to join independent Aussie-owned creative agency MIRIMAR. In 2023 the pair won the Cannes Lions Titanium Grand Prix for Tuvalu ‘The First Digital Nation’ and this year, the Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix for Sydney Opera House ‘Play it Safe’. Campaign Brief recently caught up with the talented duo for a brief chat.

You’ve been working together for three years now. How did this partnership come to be?

The way all great partnerships do: with a blind date at a pub with sticky carpet. Thanks again to The Monkeys for playing matchmaker.

At The Monkeys, you won the Cannes Lions Dan Wieden Titanium Grand Prix for Tuvalu ‘The First Digital Nation’, and in June, you picked up the coveted Film Grand Prix for Sydney Opera House ‘Play It Safe’ (congrats!). How does it feel to be recognised on such a major level?

Thank you! The part of us that hungers for world domination is thrilled. The part of us that wants to throw our laptops off the roof then live in the woods collecting berries is apprehensive.

Mostly, we just count ourselves very lucky to have worked on such special projects with such great people.

You’ve been at MIRIMAR for over six months now, and have recently moved to LA. How have you settled in?

The co-founders are Aussies. The ECD is an Aussie. There’s an Aussie cafe across the road from the office in Venice. It’s like we never left home.

That said, capitalism is a different beast over here. The scale, the budgets, and the pressure are all supersized in the US, but the MIRIMAR team has gone above and beyond to help us feel at home. After a run at an agency as established as The Monkeys, it’s exciting to be on the ground floor of something new.

Tell us about LA life. What are the best and worst parts about living in Los Angeles?

So far, LA is stunningly beautiful and absolutely lawless. Every day, you’ll see someone having the best day of their life, and someone else having the worst. There are fireworks every night and car crashes every morning and not a cloud in the sky. It’s crazy, in every sense of the word. We’re loving it.

Highlight so far: watching a joust at the Renaissance Faire with a Bud Light in hand.

Lowlight: trying to get car insurance. Forget baseball; bureaucracy is the national sport.

You were both behind Speedo’s epic global relaunch campaign ‘Go Full Speedo’ for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics. What was the inspiration behind the work? 

Speedos are a beloved Aussie icon, but over the past few decades, the brand’s been focused less on the average punter, and more on speed, performance, and elite athletes. You’d think a global campaign in an Olympic year would double down on that positioning, but instead, we got to dive back into grainy, nostalgic Australiana.

Honestly, we can’t take too much credit for the idea: it was already 90% approved when we arrived at MIRIMAR. Still, it feels fitting that our first job at an American agency was the most Aussie campaign imaginable – and hopefully one that helps the Speedo brand reclaim its place in people’s hearts and noggins.

What advice would you give to other creatives who want to work overseas?

Look, it’s a bit terrifying, obviously. And it comes with a never-ending pile of life admin. But if you get the opportunity to work overseas, you won’t regret taking it.

If you’re as easily overwhelmed as we apparently are, here’s something comforting: the day-to-day work isn’t *that* different. It’s still decks and emails and timesheets. As much as that side of the gig can sometimes be laborious, it’s actually been a bit of a security blanket. The familiarity of work makes the alienness of everything else feel manageable.

Other advice? Save the first trip to your new supermarket for a day when you’re feeling mentally and emotionally strong. And if you’ve got a new colleague that’s just moved to Australia for work, invite ‘em round for dinner.

Looking ahead, what are you focused on?

A Grand Prix three-peat feels a bit greedy, so we’ll just say: exploring the US, trying not to die, crossing our fingers for Kamala, and making more of the work we want to see in the world. You can keep up with the latest at jakealex.com.