Campaign Brief Creative Circle: What’s hot in September 2026?

Each month, Campaign Brief invites top creatives to choose one standout piece of Australian work made outside their own agency – a space to celebrate the fresh thinking, craft and homegrown creativity pushing the industry forward.

This month’s Creative Circle features Sunday Gravy’s Ant White; Havas Host’s Anna Yates; Fabric’s Keenan Motto; OUTSIDE IN’s Grace Leat; SOLVD’s Dan Stephens and Archie + Fox’s Amanda Buschmann.

Special leads the agency pack in the 2026 Creative Circle League table so far (see full table below) with 8 points, followed by Sunday Gravy on 7 points. Bear Meets Eagle on Fire is in third spot on 6 points, followed by Droga5 ANZ on 5 points, and 2045, BMF and Cocogun sharing 5th spot on 3 points apiece.

Ant White, Sunday Gravy

You’re selling Skull Island Prawns to frantic families. Your job is to remind them that, despite the chaos of modern life, they can still create an aspirational dinner occasion. Prove that good food creates those increasingly rare moments of connection around the table. Elevate the everyday. Make the brand feel premium, yet approachable. Make people feel something.

So you make a heavy metal music video with a dancing prawn.

Client: Austral Fisheries; Agency: Bonfire; Production: Outer Circle

Anna Yates, Havas Host

Great work is a bit thin on the ground this month, but there are still some fun and interesting pieces around. My pick is DiDi’s ’Sore Loser Saver’ – it’s a clever mechanic executed in an unhinged way. Very on brand.

Client: DiDi; Agency: Sunday Gravy; Director: Conor Mercury; Production Company; EXIT

Keenan Motto, Fabric (Part of TBWA Australia)

I love the absurdity. Advertising, and frankly the world, needs more of it. There’s something beautifully ugly about taking fried chicken this seriously, in the same way K18’s recent hairball did in NYC via Uncommon. The new global identity gives KFC permission to push that absurdity further, creating a distinctive visual world that feels unmistakably theirs.

Client: KFC Australia; Agency: Special; Director: Stefan Hunt; Production Company: EXIT

Grace Leat, OUTSIDE IN

My pick is KFC’s ‘Sacked Postie Postcard’. In a world where brands are constantly elbowing their way into conversations they weren’t invited to, this small but mighty idea shows the power of waiting for the right moment. Kudos to the teams at KFC, Ogilvy and beyond for the hustle it must have taken to get this out before the news cycle moved on.

Client: KFC Australia; Agency: Ogilvy Australia

Dan Stephens, SOLVD

Ogilvy’s “Saving is in” for ING takes on the most boring category and makes it genuinely funny. I like all three in the suite, but the standout is the “Awkward Date” spot, where nailing your savings goal becomes the ultimate flex. The ING lion is random, but it’s brand consistent and it works. I’m a sucker for some large type too.

Client: ING; Agency: Ogilvy Australia; Director: Stef Smith; Production Company: PHOTOPLAY / PLAYTIME

Amanda Buschmann, Archie + Fox

Unexpectedly romantic and beautiful in every sense, made with incredible attention to light, colour, movement, and sound. A perfect reminder of the power of storytelling in our day to day lives.

Client: Mutimer; Director: Chris Martin; Production Company: Wildebeest

VIEW PREVIOUS CREATIVE CIRCLES HERE

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