Michael Ritchie: Sign of the times

It says a lot about the culture at Revolver that it was flexible enough to take on the mighty task of Play It Safe. 

This four-minute celebration of the Sydney Opera House’s 50th anniversary in 2023 made no income and, according to the Sydney-based production company’s Co-Founder Michael Ritchie, was “a massive undertaking.” But it was ultimately worth it. “It was a real honour for everyone involved because it’s heartfelt, tactile work with great creative thinking that makes you feel something.” 

If you haven’t seen Play It Safe — or even if you haven’t seen it for a while — watch it. Those four minutes are an injection of pure joy, inclusion and exuberance. 

Alongside multi-awarded The Square Metre for German DIY chain Hornbach, directed by Ritchie’s Co-Founder at Revolver, Steve Rogers, Play It Safe cued up Revolver for a mighty 2025: having been shortlisted at Cannes 2024, Revolver took the 2025 Palme d’Or as well as Production Company of the Year at the shots Awards Asia Pacific. Rogers scored an impressive hat-trick with Director of the Year accolades at shots APAC, Cannes Lions and Ciclope. 

Beyond prolific output and awards success from Rogers (including Channel 4, Coinbase, Amazon, Etsy, Squarespace), Revolver was awarded for its Better on a Better Mobile Network campaign for Australian telco Telstra, shot by Jeff Low. Other Revolver directors recognised with industry awards last year included Leilani Croucher, Fiona McGee, Richard Bullock and Glue Society.

“It meant we weren’t a flash-in-the-pan,” reflects Ritchie from his office in Sydney. “The Palme d’Or is the only way you can gauge a world market in one spot and it was a pat on the back for the entire staff. To win it as an Australian company was a big thing for us.”

From Patts to partners 

Ritchie started out in the industry straight from school, joining the dispatch department at George Patterson. This homegrown agency, now part of VML, was affectionately known as ‘Patts’ and dominated Australia’s ad scene for 50 years. Ritchie studied for his degree there and rose through the ranks before taking a pay cut to join Ogilvy. Then he turned to directing. He considered himself “a pretty average director” before realising that “my lot in life is to know really good people and make them be the best.” How does he do that at Revolver? “We work hard, care deeply, and treat everyone like they’re family.” 

Ritchie and Rogers launched Revolver in 1999. Ritchie says: “We’ve always been able to move the company on. Steve and I have become closer as friends and we never take each other for granted.” The company also has long-term partnerships in place with Biscuit, Somesuch and Arts & Sciences.  

“Biscuit in particular have been incredible partners,” says Ritchie, of a relationship that goes back to 2003. “We’re tied up in more than cross-representation. We talk a lot to Rupert Reynolds-MacLean, Managing Director, Biscuit Filmworks UK and Shawn Lacy [Biscuit’s LA-based Co-Founder and Managing Director] and that cross-referencing makes us stronger. From a geographical perspective, it makes sense: rather than Revolver opening up offices in Europe or America, they know Biscuit has it covered while Australia is tucked up in bed and vice versa. Ritchie says: “We’re not joined at the hip but the success of Biscuit reflects on us and we want to support each other. We co-produce a lot and do it with absolute trust.” 

Revolver’s turning 27 this year, but Ritchie never rests on his laurels. “I work really hard and have this thing that we’re not going to be in business in six weeks’ time if I don’t keep up the pressure on myself. It’s annoying for my family and my wife because I never take it for granted, I never feel comfortable.” He’s less hands-on these days, delegating more to  
Pip Smart, Executive Producer and Partner and the lead producer on Play It Safe. “She’s really clever,” says Ritchie. “A straight-talking, deep-thinking executive producer. She’s very operational and better at it than me.” 

The pull to reality 

What kind of work will Revolver be doing in 2026? Ritchie says: “People are craving authenticity and reality. They want to see and experience something, and that only works if it’s highly crafted; you can’t do an experiential thing that’s not beautifully finished from all angles.” A recent case in point: Glue Society’s In Living Memory for the British Heart Foundation, in which someone who nearly died because of a heart issue talks to a loved one about escaping death while sat on a red bench, a reference to memorial benches that are common in the UK. 

Ritchie also cites Grave of Thrones, which Glue Society created for broadcaster Foxtel to mark the end of Game of Thrones in May 2019. This 2,000 square metre Sydney-based cemetery with 35 hand-sculpted graves attracted 40,000 fans. Ritchie recalls: “We caused traffic chaos. A lot of experiential stuff doesn’t get people there but Glue Society are clever. It’s going to be a more potent part of the mix as it transcends the whole AI thing completely.” 

Ah. The whole AI thing. As a company formed at the end of the last millennium — when digital media was known as ‘new media’ and phones weren’t smart — what’s Revolver making of increasing automation? “We ran some breakout sessions with our staff where AI platforms and providers came to talk about it. One of our directors is now winning awards in AI filmmaking, so he’s partnering up as a supercoach with any of our directors who want to work with AI tools. We’re going to be smart and use it at the right time because it has to be director-driven.” He uses a food analogy: “If you put a whole lot of ingredients in front of me and I don’t know how to cook, I’ll make a mess of it.” 

One of Revolver’s long-term clients, Telstra, is taking a similar approach. Brent Smart, Telstra’s Chief Marketing Officer, described craft as “the membrane between the brand and its audience”. Ritchie says: “Telstra believes that the audience can see if you’re putting effort into how you communicate.” 

Along with Considering What?, a provocative, high-concept film by Rogers to promote the Paralympic Games on Channel 4, Ritchie cites Jeff Low’s Better on a Better Mobile Network for Telstra as one of his recent highlights. The campaign took the 2025 Film Craft Lions Grand Prix, with Jury President Ali Ali, Co-Founder of Cairo-based Good Films describing it as “entirely tactile, made by hand, like a very warm, slow-cooked meal as opposed to fast food.” Ritchie says: “Jeff kept the quality up on all 26 of those 15-second spots. It created a lot of love for Telstra, Jeff was amazing and so was the agency [Bear Meets Eagle on Fire, based in Darlinghurst, Sydney]. To see those ads played all through the 2024 Olympics was a fantastic moment in time.” 

Talking of the Olympics, Ritchie describes his dream brief as “an Olympic opening ceremony. The one Danny Boyle did [for London 2012] was wonderful.” He adds: “There’s a number of great people out there who do wonderful things, and I’d like us to be in that mix. I don’t want us to come across as chest-beating because we don’t have any aspirations beyond making sure people like us and think about us, and know that we always have their best interests at heart.”