Yesterday’s “Keeping it Reel with Jimmy Rees and Maria Thattil” session at Advertising Week APAC brought together two beloved Aussie creators who believe that when it comes to engaging video content, size doesn’t always matter.

It was a hard slog in the proverbial Adland office yesterday with Advertising Week APAC (AWAPAC) calling the media masses to Luna Park for what can only be described as the second most exciting communications conference in Australia after Cannes in Cairns. 

And while the tracks boasted a feat of thought-leadership, AdTech, innovation, and ideas to herald in the next era of media, The Creative Showcase stage was the lunchtime hot spot if laughs were anything to go by. 

It was a given, “Keeping it Reel with Jimmy Rees and Maria Thattil,” hosted by Meta ANZ’s marketing lead, Rogan Houlihan, was a pedestal for the titular Meta product. Taking the stage with Houlihan were Australian entertainer and all-round funnyman, Jimmy Rees, and author, activist, and media personality, Maria Thattil, who became renowned after being crowned Miss Universe Australia 2020.

Setting the sales pitch aside, the session offered valuable lessons and reminders for brands wanting to tap into the creator economy and engage audiences through short-form videos on platforms like Facebook Reels, as well as the TikTok, and YouTube Shorts (sorry, Meta).

Which brings us to! Our top three takeaways for brands:

1) People want to see “real shit”.

When it comes to short-form content, relatability is the nexus for engagement, even if it is for more elevated comedy, as is Rees’ niche. 

Rees began his foray into short, sketch comedy video making during the COVID lockdowns. As the father of three boys, including twins who were 18 months old at the time, parenting naturally became the comedic subject.

Rees explained: “Any time of a kid’s life when you’re parenting is just psycho, so I just started capturing a few things.

“If you have these sort of relatable moments, [engagement] can just start growing.”

Speaking from her experience, Thattil described her content learning curve: “Initially, when I started doing Reels, whether I was getting branded content for beauty or fashion, I thought it had to be amazing. And then I realised that people wanted to see less polished things from me. 

“I filmed these amazing pieces of content and got people to help me do it. And then I put up the laziest video … that’s shot on an iPhone, and it would just do so well.”

2) You’re paying for personality, not polish.

Brands over-briefing the talent they are trying to align with was an obvious bane of content creators’ existence.

Rees suggested that it’s easy for there to be a disconnect for brands paying for advertising media that is less elevated. But by clinging to that fear and enforcing a one-size-fits-all model, brands risk alienating the very audiences they aim to connect with on short-form video platforms.

“You want it to fit in,” said Rees. “If I scroll and see an ad that should be on TV, I know immediately,” he continued, “Even if it’s vertical!”

Coming from a TV background, Rees noted, “I’m always an advocate for making [my videos] look pretty nice, while still having that authentic ‘it could go anywhere!’ vibe to it.”

Thattil affirmed, “I totally get that you [brands] have an aesthetic that you need to meet or a way that your brand is meant to be presented. But ultimately, it’s not going to land with the audience if it’s not looking true to the person you’re engaging.”

3) Collaboration is key, and so is knowing what you want in the first place.

To mitigate such briefing woes, Thattil proposed the following solution: “You’re paying a creator because you want to syphon their audience, right? 

“So the best thing you can do as a brand or an ad agency is be super collaborative with the people that you’re investing the money in, because they know their audience best. Develop your briefs with them instead of telling them what to do.”

Rees, who has collaborated with brands such as Woolworths and Specsavers, and even created bespoke characters such as ‘Woolworths Wendy’ mentioned that he’s happy to work with briefs that include mandated lines of dialogue, jokingly adding, “as long as I can get my red marker out.”