“Make ’em laugh, make ’em laugh until they cry”: Director Amber Mealing on Swisse’s new ‘HYSTERIA’ campaign via Clemenger BBDO

After stepping back from the industry for two years, director Amber Mealing (pictured second from left) with The Producers, has returned behind the camera for Swisse’s new campaign, tackling the historical dismissal of women’s health issues with a mix of humour, advocacy and personal experience. Created with Clemenger BBDO and starring Aisha Dee, the campaign blends period drama aesthetics with a distinctly modern voice. CB caught up with Mealing to talk burnout, balance, and bringing “hysteria” into 2026.

You’re back directing after taking some time away – how did the Swisse project find you, and what made it feel like the right one to come back with?

The creatives at Clems had a list of preferred female directors and I was lucky to be on the top of the list. They felt my aesthetics and previous work matched their creative ideas for the campaign, and they weren’t wrong! Female empowerment, a little humour, a little riot-girl energy, vintage but make it modern, conservative but make it rebellious, ME TO A T.

Honestly it’s all magical timing. I was starting to put out there that I was open to taking on work and literally within a week of being “back”, this brief came across The Producer’s desk. Lowkey – I think I manifested this big time haha.

But it’s all about timing really. Taking a hiatus to work on my health, gave me some time to shift through burnout and find a more positive space to work from. And I think because of that there’s this energy of attraction going on now. I always found it difficult to find projects in the Australian ad industry that suited my aesthetic and brazen tone, but that was a few years ago and now we’re heading into a more maximalist advertising era. Which I am so pumped for!

The campaign confronts how women’s health issues have historically been dismissed or misdiagnosed – did any of that resonate with your own experience over the past two years?

Massively. I just had to stop working and move back home, so that I could afford to take time to have surgeries and pursue diagnosis and treatment. And even then after years of this I still don’t have an official diagnosis or any clear way to treat my PMOS (formerly known as PCOS) and endometriosis, because let’s be clear – there is no cure for either!

With women’s health issues – the nature of them being chronic and misunderstood as well as often unseen – you have to (ironically) be physically and emotionally at your best to pursue help. Otherwise a lot of the time you give up from fatigue and exhaustion both physically and mentally. You always have to push to be heard, but even then you have to push to make the appointments, push to make sure you get the right scan and that the results go to the right doctor.

Those smaller admin things you don’t even think about, that you think medical providers are across; the thread that holds the entire process together, it isn’t a strong iron rope. It’s literally you straining, being pulled in every direction, trying to hold it all together. Add months of wait-times, hormonal brain fog, unmeasurable fatigue and constant stabbing pain, it feels like an impossible task just to have basic health care – to be seen and taken seriously, to have a normal life even.

So to have an ad campaign, one that I am also involved in creating, that directly addresses this and in a genuine and accountable way, it’s honestly so affirming. It gives me hope that times are changing.

What was the collaboration with Clems and Swisse like in bringing this story to screen?

It was such an intense but emotionally fulfilling process. Classic quick turnarounds and lots of creative input from many different voices made it seem like a fever dream and an insurmountable beast that couldn’t be tamed, but ultimately it’s because every single creative lead involved (all women by the way) just cared about this project so so much. All of us have experienced the effects this concept of “hysteria” has had upon the women’s health industry, even today. And we’ve all been women who have worked our arses off to be heard and get to where we are in this industry.

This campaign is purely an amalgamation of blood, sweat and tears from a gaggle of extremely powerful and creative women all insisting on being heard. A challenge sure, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It not only made the campaign robust, but it made the process for every single person involved magical, personal and ultimately satisfying. And I believe that sort of energy translates through the work.

I’m really grateful and proud to have been able to work with some amazing creative minds. The creatives in the Swisse team really understand being a contemporary voice and style and how alternative marketing works. And the Clems team were equally as dedicated to ensure this project hit the right notes, not only for the client but also for all women.

Advocacy projects can often have that added pressure, a feeling like you have to get it right or else you’re letting down a large group of people, but I enjoy the high stakes, it adds meaning and gravitas to the work. And once the pieces started coming together, all the fun aesthetics and the beautiful wardrobe (stylist Stuart Walford is THE BEST) I think it was pretty clear we were all piecing together something pretty epic, and that it was actually happening and finding life.

Was there a particular moment or scene in the campaign that felt most personal to direct?

Honestly it all was. I say that about everything I work on – they’re all my babies and my artworks, it’s all personal. There’s a piece of Amber in everything I direct.

But this project definitely heightened the personal connection, purely because of the topic of women’s health and women’s rights. Although the fact that this campaign had to strike a balance between playful and serious, especially when Aisha delivers that difficult stat about women’s health research funding, felt like a nuanced challenge to overcome.

My personal relationship to the topic – let’s just say I have a lot more rage than what is considered appropriate for a working environment, and my reaction to a lot of women’s issues in this world is to set it all on fire. A lot of women feel this way, but for advertising to be empowering you can’t go full pelt howling at the moon. You still need a sense of balance and restraint to be heard and understood. That’s what felt personal – finding within myself a sense of balance and peace in order to infuse that into the project.

How did you approach striking the right tone for a topic that’s sensitive but also needs to spark conversation and advocacy?

So finding that balance, I first had to find it in myself (ok, Yoda). I also think most women, especially Australians, often respond to trials with humour. Seneca wrote “it is more human to laugh at life than to lament it” and I think that’s always been the cornerstone of approaching sensitive topics for me – make ’em laugh, make ’em laugh until they cry.

Wanting to bring some levity to the project, I looked for moments in the script that I could incorporate some whimsy and playfulness – the introduction of a “roaming womb” map, an unusually large fruit to chomp into, easter-egg moments in production design and props. It also helped that Clems Creative Director Heidi Kasselman and Copywriter Hazel Squair had already set the tone within the concept and playful lines. Also shout-out to Clem’s graphic designer Georgia Emery who designed the iconic womb wallpaper! Not to mention that setting the campaign within the aesthetic genre of a period drama allowed for an inherent tone of wit and whimsy.

And then it’s diligence – it’s making sure that tone is set within and aided by every department. All of the three female characters – what is their individual brand of comedy that can feed into their brand of seriousness? What voice do the camera take on? By using a robotic arm we alluded to a more contemporary lens to view the women which gave a modern context, which then balanced out the historical aesthetics. Every department and element was about achieving that balance of modernity vs history, playfulness vs somber.

I also think knowing the issues through and through, like actually living it, really helps. You don’t have to spend time educating yourself on the history of Hysteria or women’s health. You then have time and room to be playful and creative when your foundation is the serious reality.

What was it like working with Aisha Dee (pictured above), who has also spoken openly about her own health journey?

Aisha was a dream to work with – talk about balancing tones! She has this effortless and natural pace about her that doesn’t feel staged. She can really present her true genuine self. I think that was the final piece of the puzzle that aligned on the shoot day – seeing Aisha just effortlessly smash out her lines, and in a way that had her own flavour of sarcasm and advocacy.

Unfortunately on commercials you don’t get much time to bond, or even rehearse, it’s such a quick turn around, but luckily I’m a talker and look for any opportunity to connect – my personality is loud and a bit of an assault on the senses. First convo I’m talking our compatible astrology, I’m talking queerness, I’m talking bleeding endlessly. I just wanted to help her feel immediately that her director was on the level, had experienced some similar issues, and that she could feel it was a safe space to be herself.

Aisha also really guided the entire messaging, along with the Swisse team, and pushed for the messaging to be very self-empowered, advocacy-focused as opposed to product, or even overtly brand-focused. I think the fact that Swisse encouraged this as well, and took the risk to dial back branding, makes this piece so special and also feel very current. It’s smart alternative marketing that is the future – genuine messaging backed up by brand actions, centralising the message the brand supports and de-centering the brand, performs better amongst audiences that are just hungry for genuine connections and real honest brands.

I hope to work with Aisha again, she is so so talented and smart and funny! (Girl crushing big time)

After stepping back from the industry for two years, what’s changed – in the industry, or in how you approach your work?

A lot has changed about the industry and a lot continues to change! My DP Amy Dellar and I have a joke that it’s like I’ve been released from prison and have to reacquaint myself with the industry and what’s new standards. Amy is my parole officer, teaching me how to bag groceries and function in film society again lolll.

To be fair, I always kept my eye out and visual finger on the pulse, you never truly are cut off from it all, but the innovations in technology in the last 2 years has been wild. Honestly things seem to be a bit more streamlined now, more complex but weirdly easier as well.

I am excited to see the Australian industry start to adopt a lot of maximalist and comedic styles that have been revolutionizing overseas advertising industries. I think we’re seeing a younger audience and younger creatives start to grow legs and be given permission to run; brands are catching onto this and are allowing more creative flair. It’s all linked to adapting to social media and streaming platforms and the changes in viewership and engagement.

There was the demand for that 2 years ago, but now we’re starting to see it translated into the briefs and what’s being produced, which is so exciting. For me I’m still as meticulous as ever, I have always been very hands-on, and I still am, but I think what’s different after some time away is being more realistic with my time and energy, as a way to curb burn-out. I think all creatives should develop a practice for themselves that includes balance, down-time, meditation and knowing when to let go. That’s something I have learned over my decade of directing, but having time off, I’m now able to actually integrate.

What’s next for you now that you’re back directing?

Honestly, I’m on a roll baby! I’ve jumped onto another maximalist ad (watch this space), and I’m keen to go back to back with it. Ad job one month, another ad job straight after, then a short film next! I actually have a short I want to do that plays with pig prosthetics. I want to develop a web series. The dragon has been sleeping, dreaming away and now she’s just waking up! Haha

The plan is to just continue being unapologetically me, hone my craft, lead teams, connect with amazing creatives, and communicate cool, smart, funny and weird things to audiences. LIVING. THE. DREAM.

Creative agency: Clemenger BBDO
Production Company: The Producers
Director: Amber Mealing

Media Agency: PMG
PR Agency: AMPR

Client: Swisse Wellness
Swati Prasad, Managing Director, Swisse Wellness
Stephanie Taylor, Marketing Director, Swisse Wellness
Natasha McGill, Senior Manager, Marketing & Brand Strategy
Alice Murray, Senior Brand Manager
Noopur Powale, Brand Manager
Tash Matic, Campaign Manager
Daniella Sorace, Senior Manager, Communications
Helena Panopoulos, PR & Partnerships Manager
Laura Ogilvie, Social Content & Creative Manager
Emer Harrington, Senior Content Production Manager
Louise Rhodes, Design Manager
Grace Falvo, Designer, Digital UX & Consumer
Jayden Younger, Videographer