Pro Wrestler in Antiques Store Blends Subtle and Absurd For SEEK

SEEK has launched a new campaign featuring the unlikely pairing of a pro wrestler and an antiques shop with Droga5 ANZ, part of Accenture Song.

Director Edward Housden, who just this week signed toThe Sweetshop AUNZ, said he was “always keen to mix the subtle and the absurd”.

“While the concept is quite heightened, I feel like the more authentic and grounded something is, the funnier it becomes. I wanted to lean into the subtlety and let the absurdity take care of itself,” he told LBB.

“While Ricky [the wrestler] is larger than life, the tone and visual style is grounded in a world where his antics cause a bemused stare or an exasperated head shake, rather than a call to the police.

“Keeping the visual style in the world of filmic doco really helped in [creating] that sense of naturalism.”

The three spots feature Maria, an elderly woman who owns an antiques store, trying her best to manage Ricky -- a buff, burly wrestler decked out in hot pink aerobics gear trying to help around the store.

Droga5 ANZ creative director, Connor Beaver, added the wrestler was “a lovable guy, but he’s not quite the right fit for an antiques shop.”

“We think these spots do a great job of highlighting how SEEK’s tools can really give SMEs a leg up in the hiring process -- and we’ve loved working with the team at SEEK to bring them to life,” he said.

The work extends the job-finder’s ‘Seek and you shall find’ platform, building on from the 2025 spots featuring a pre-fame Tarzan and Dorothy and adopting a similar ‘fish out of water’ construct. At the time the first work launched, Revolver director Taso Alexander told LBB the platform’s consistency came from the characters’ vulnerability.

The insight for the new spots was how the wrong hire can significantly impact small businesses. SEEK research shows it can cost up to 26% of an employee’s salary. Edward believed a wrestler was the perfect visualisation of this idea.

“I wanted to take the idea of ‘the wrong man for the job’ to a ridiculous extreme, but treat the situation with complete subtlety,” he said.

“Seeing a loud, brash character show humility when he knows he’s got something wrong, or earnestly helping customers in the store, became key to shaping his character.”

One of Edward’s favourite moments in the work is “when Ricky is in the zone, flexing, and working the ‘crowd’." The camera pans to Maria, who shakes her head.

“Maria is a sympathetic presence and the grounding element in the story. In hiring Ricky, she’s made an honest mistake. As a time-poor small business owner, anyone in her position might do the same.”

The spots also highlight SEEK’s AI tools, helping small-to-medium enterprises locate the right candidates, write job ads, and use a talent search feature to directly reach out to possible applicants.

SEEK chief marketing officer APAC, Maryanne Tsiatsias, said SMEs “are more time poor than ever before” and noted SEEK is “always investing in product experiences that offer the best possible matching capability for SMEs to find the right person for their business.

“A wrestler in an antiques store is a light-hearted, entertaining way to visually demonstrate the impact a wrong hire can have -- and exactly why having the right tools to find the right match matters so much.”