Emma Wright: Blaze of glory

It’s been seven years since Founder Micah Walker opened the doors to bijou, bespoke indie agency Bear Meets Eagle on Fire, and built up a reputation for comedy and surprise with a slew of spots for Australian mobile network, Telstra. 

They also made a range of funny, smart, relatable spots last year across cinema, broadcast, OOH and social for new client Bankwest. Both contributed to Bear’s second consecutive Agency of the Year awards at the shots Awards Asia Pacfic.

Senior producer Emma Wright joined in 2021, bringing to Bear more than 20 years’ experience at Wieden+Kennedy in London, where she produced award-winning work for brands including Nike, Honda and Lurpak.

Good producers thrive on making sure everyone is feeling they are being heard and looked after. 

She also worked with The Muppets. “It was many moons ago now,” she laughs, “but it was an incredible experience, getting to peep behind the curtain and witness some of the magic. The puppeteers are so incredibly skilled that you don’t for a second question that the characters aren’t real. And in between takes, they’d stay in character but just go about their everyday conversation, which was a laugh to hear.”

Above: Telstra’s Better Network campaign, which won the Cannes Lion Grand Prix in Film Craft in 2025.

While working with Muppets has to be a career apex, beyond that immortal realm, Wright’s production credits range from Lurpak’s Adventure Awaits campaign, a Cannes Lion winner in 2014, to the Grand Prix 2025 winner for Telstra’s Better Network.

“I sort of fell into it, to be honest,” she says of a life lived in advertising. “After studying media at university, I really wanted to produce documentaries or children’s television. Advertising wasn’t the dream.”

But it was her destination. After leaving her native Australia for London, she landed a job at W+K, which opened her eyes to what advertising could really do. “I was blown away by the level of craft and creativity that could exist within that world,” she says. “Particularly the work for Honda and Nike. These were like mini-films. And I quickly grew to love the pace and camaraderie of the industry.”

Cutting my teeth in the industry in London gave me an incredible training ground.

One career milestone was W+K’s winning of the Lurpak account in 2007. Awards soon came a-calling. “This groundbreaking work was always challenging because it constantly continued to redefine its category,” says Wright. “It pushed production to find new solutions to complex requirements, with each campaign proposing a different visual feast.” She recalls working on 2014’s award-winning Adventure Awaits with Dougal Wilson while she was eight months pregnant. Cue three gold Lions for direction, cinematography and sound design. “It was hugely rewarding,” says Wright. “He really pushed the technical aspect of the shoot.”

London is an enormous magnet of power and density. Its pull can span hemispheres, and Wright’s time there was a game-changer. “Cutting my teeth in the industry in London gave me an incredible training ground,” she says. “I worked with so many talented people, many of whom I’m still in touch with.” And aside from the challenging weather, London’s multitude of charms proved hard to resist. “I love its energy, its proximity to Europe for holidaying, and its mix of historic charm with contemporary culture,” she says. “And it’s home to the best pubs, curries and roasts in the world.”

Above: Lurpak’s Adventure Awaits campaign, directed by Dougal Wilson, won three gold Lions in 2014.

After two decades in the saddle, what are the qualities a producer needs to enable teams to achieve great work? Is there a special secret ingredient or two to make it rise and turn golden (with or without the aid of Lurpak) every time? “It’s relentless dedication to helping the team see out their vision,” she replies. “I work side by side with the team – literally, as we don’t have our own separate departments here at Bear. Preparation, research and organisation all help bring that vision to life smoothly, which is evident in the quality of the output. There’s a true sense of collaboration that helps achieve some pretty special work.”

“It’s not a producer’s job to be a gatekeeper,” she adds, “but to be an enabler. A positive yet realistic attitude contributes to the entire production running smoothly. And as budgets become more challenging and schedules more condensed, we need to find a solution, rather than just close down an idea. So some solutions are being inventive about how that might be possible, forging genuine and positive relationships to aid this and, above all, remaining calm under pressure and guiding the production.”

It’s not a producer’s job to be a gatekeeper.

And as well as fostering the kind of creative thinking that’s not only outside the box, but reimagines what a box might be, production is all about relationships, too. “Good producers thrive on making sure everyone is feeling they are being heard and looked after. I’m probably a bit of a mother hen in that regard.”

When it comes to her tenure at Bear, it was family ties and having a child that brought her back to Australia. “Joining Bear was like finding a second family,” she says. “It’s a joy getting to work alongside a group of people for whom caring about the work is not just an empty promise but an actuality. There aren’t many of us at Bear,” she adds, “which people are sometimes surprised about, given the output of work. But this is intentional, keeping it lean and senior. Bear is not an easy place to get to work, so I really value being part of a small, close team.”

Above: Created by Bear Meets Eagle On Fire with +61 and directed by Dougal Wilson, Telstra’s silent film series featured three black-and-white cinema shorts - Mirror Mirror, Four-Legged Friend and Magnetic Boy - reminding audiences to put their phones on silent.

Since joining in 2021, highlights have included not only those two shots Awards, but the Cannes Lion Grand Prix in Film Craft for Telstra’s Better Network campaign, while at Australia’s AWARD Awards, Bear bagged another Agency of the Year, as well as eight Gold, 12 Silver, and 18 Bronze Pencils. That’s a lot of wins. Is there something in the water at Bear’s offices in Darlington, Sydney?

“Bear is full of smart, imaginative people who really care hard,” says Wright. “Our clients offer us a real sense of trust, something we’ve earned from them knowing and valuing how much we care about our work. There’s also a distinct diversity in our body of work, from advertising-shaped projects to brand design. And we all love what we do, which I think shines through.”

Bear is full of smart, imaginative people who really care hard.

Her own takeaways on working at Bear are a mix of the personal and professional. “It’s the friendships made, creating top-tier work for brands that also has a cultural impact, and the recognition of this work, globally,” she says. “But what I love the most is that being the only producer at Bear means I work across all projects at once, from the glitter float for Pride WA, to the Better Network critters and the ‘naughty’ Christmas napkins we sent out as our Christmas gift one year. It’s hectic and demanding at times but also makes me super-proud to be across it all.”

Innovation and experimentation are also ruling spirits at the agency. “So many projects now call for increasingly varied approaches to ‘making’ and it feels this is always a consideration for us – how can we push this in a different direction, whether that’s exploring animation, making a donkey sing, creating 10 short films instead of one long one… there’s the ambition to make it unique. The teams at Bear are great at finding a memorable, distinctive way to deliver a brand message. We often struggle to find reference to articulate an idea, which is a plus as it means it’s not been made before.”