Many in the Australian and US advertising and television industries will be saddened to hear of the passing of multi-talented Australian expatriate Mara Maric. Mara Maric passed away in Houston, Texas after a long battle with cancer.
Maric began his career as an award-winning advertising copywriter on four continents, including Australia. Most notably at Campaign Palace in Melbourne, he created the award-winning “Chic ‘Em Rex” commercial for Ants Pants with Sarah Barclay. The film won a Gold Pencil at the 1990 AWARD and was later named ATV’s “Best Commercial of the Last 20 Years.”
In 1992, Maric headed to the United States and joined the vibrant world of MTV New York’s famed on-air promotions division, graduating as an Emmy-nominated writer, director, and producer.
As a behind-the-scenes talent at MTV, she dreamed up new and glamorous eye candy that had the public drooling every day. She has since successfully launched her own creative shop, Dizzy, and continued her international career spanning traditional and digital advertising and content. For the past 10 years, she has led her own successful creative development company, SuperMarketLove LLC.
Maric was fluent in solving problems from different cultures. She has launched web heaven, television channels and shows in New York, Boston, Australia, India, Taiwan, London, Dublin, Sydney, Hong Kong, Paris, Cairo, Las Vegas, Dallas, San Francisco, San Diego, New Orleans and Los Angeles.
Maric enjoyed collaborating with others and listening to clients to derive the best messaging strategy. As a hands-on creator, she worked closely with her subject matter and was comfortable handling project management from start to finish. I loved the challenge of simplifying complex subjects and troubleshooting to find the best solution.
Maric was academically trained and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and economics from the University of Sydney. She was also a lecturer and advisor at Western Sydney Ad School.
Mara Maric chose Candy Shoes (produced with Sarah Barclay at Campaign Palace, Melbourne in 1987) as her favorite ad in the Millennium Book of Campaign Briefs published in 2000.
Maric (right) and art director partner Sarah Barclay (1987). At the time we were a young creative team at The Ball Partnership in Sydney. During their stay, they were featured in the September 1987 campaign overview article ‘A guide to Sydney’s hottest young creative talent’. Shortly after, they were captured at Campaign Palace in Melbourne.
