TBWA\Australia opens applications for 2026 FRESHIES 12-month advertising apprenticeship in Melbourne + Sydney: deadline 6pm Mon, Oct 27
TBWA\Australia has opened applications for its highly anticipated FRESHIES (formerly Fresh Fries), paid creative agency apprenticeship program, designed to find the ambitious, and the relentlessly curious. With a new name, a new look, and a new brief, the program continues to evolve while staying true to its disruptive spirit.
Now entering its eighth-year rotation in Melbourne, and its inaugural year for Sydney, FRESHIES offers a full-time, 12-month immersion into agency life, rotating through strategy, creative, client leadership, production, and PR. Since launching in November 2018, 80% of graduate participants have gone on to secure permanent roles at TBWA, making it one of the industry’s most effective entry pathways.
The brief for 2026 is simple: Don’t Fear the Blank Page, Fill It (tbwa.com.au/freshies). Instead of résumés or portfolios, applicants are asked to respond with imagination.
“FRESHIES isn’t about your credentials on paper,” says Kimberlee Wells, CEO, TBWA\Australia. “We want people who see the world differently. People who are hungry to learn, unafraid to disrupt, and who can turn a blank page into something remarkable.”
Shortlisted applicants will be invited into either TBWA\Melbourne or TBWA\Sydney in November for a collaborative group task and interview.
“The program effectively sees FRESHIES take on five new roles,” says Ricci Meldrum, Managing Director, TBWA\Melbourne. “It’s an intense, challenging, transformative and rewarding year. You don’t just discover what advertising is, you discover where you belong in it.
“What sets the program apart is that there are no restrictions and no prerequisites. Your curiosity is your main asset.”
How to Apply
- 1. Respond to the creative brief: Don’t Fear the Blank Page, Fill It (tbwa.com.au/freshies).
- 2. Submit your response online, applications close October 27, at 6PM.
- 3. If shortlisted, attend the in-person group task and interview in November.
“Too many graduates and career changers hit the same wall: no job without experience, no experience without a job,” says Elektra O’Malley, Managing Director, TBWA\Sydney. “FRESHIES removes that barrier. We don’t ask for a polished portfolio; we look for potential.”
No industry experience or prior study is required, just curiosity, courage, creativity and a disruptive outlook.
Applications close 27th October 2025 at 6PM. The 2026 FRESHIES program begins in January.