The Last Campfire: What Origin Teaches Us About Mass Media in a Fractured Age
The lounge room telly was the campfire. You didn’t choose what to watch so much as you joined everyone else in watching it. The show was the same. So were the ads. You couldn’t scroll. You just watched. Together.
Now that telly lives in our hands. And instead of one roaring fire, there are countless little flames flickering all at once. Each person watching their own thing, in their own feed, in their own world. Our common ground has cracked into algorithmic rabbit holes and micro-targeted messages.
But for three nights a year, something rare happens. All those splinters fuse as the State of Origin drags the country back into the same room.So, as advertisers, let’s chuck some marshmallows on some sticks and dish up something worthy of the occasion.
Primetime is dead. Long live Primetime.
In what is definitely news to nobody, today’s media environment is splintered beyond recognition. According to the 2024 IAB Australia Media Consumption Report, 73% of Australians aged 18-44 primarily consume video content via streaming, bypassing traditional broadcast. On top of that, we’re spending an average of 2.5 hours a day glued to our phones.It’s no wonder we’ve leaned into the precision of programmatic, contextual, data-first delivery. But when rare moments of mass attention present themselves, are we doing enough to meet the moment?
A Numbers Game...
Last week’s Origin decider drew 5.657 million footy fans to Nine, with an average audience of 3.9 million at any given point – making it the most-watched show of the year so far, and the highest-rating Game 3 since 2013. According to ThinkTV and Neuro-Insight, ads placed within high-stakes sporting events deliver up to 28% higher brand recall due to the emotional resonance of the content. Origin creates the kind of charged, tribal, emotional context that brand strategists dream about. And yet, many advertisers treat it like any other airtime.
So, how can we carpe the damn diem?
Firstly, let’s reclaim the big brand moment. This is the Super Bowl of the southern hemisphere, but we rarely see work that behaves like it. It’s a chance to premiere new creative, build spectacle, and create the kind of noise that actually cuts through. Emotional, large-scale storytelling still works, even more so in the eyes of emotionally charged sports fans.
Next, let’s own the second screen. Fans aren’t just watching, they’re scrolling. Imagine if BVOD placements were backed by TikTok cutdowns, live polls, reactive trivia or influencer commentary that reinforced what was on screen. Creative synced with the viewer’s full media experience, not just one channel.
And finally, we need to match the tempo of live sport with creative that evolves across the series. Use pre-rolls, billboards or social executions that shift with the score, the drama or even the controversy. Programmatic tech can do more than serve, it can respond.
Where We Go From Here...
If Origin proves anything, it’s that moments still exist where we should look to create work that feels worthy of being watched, together. Telstra and the talented folks at Bear Meets Eagle On Fire and +61 made the perfect start with a remix of their ‘Wherever We Go’ spot. It captures perfectly the shared experience of a whistling character burnt into the psyche of footy fans everywhere. He's even waltzed his way into Try July Celebrations.
Each year, you can count on one hand the moments when we Aussies gather like we once did around one crackling fire. So when it happens, let’s show up with a yarn worth telling.
Chris d’Arbon
Creative Director
