From Boring to Riveting: How Two ads are changing the way things are done

These two ads came into our lives very recently.

One is from Apple. Talking sustainability.

The other is from the New Zealand Board of Cricket. Introducing its One Day World Cup squad.

Both took a very different - let me say - a refreshingly different approach to doing the job they set out to do.

And, look at what they have created!

Let us start with the Apple Sustainability campaign.

1. Apple Sustainability Campaign:

Sustainability and reducing corporate footprint have been corporate KPIs for quite some time now. One gets to read what a company has done about these critical things, typically in their corporate reports.

Now, Apple has brought out that report and put it out in front of the world in the form of this lovely ad.

You see the entire Apple Top team there, starting with Tim Cook. You see the entire top team, starting with Tim Cook - being nervous. Very nervous. They are rehearsing their pitch. Their presentation. They are getting all in their last-minute preparations and are getting ready. But, for whom? For what?

You see the weather rumbling, thunder rolling in, and voila, Mother Nature is there, at the head of the table, ready to take in the STATUS REPORT from Apple.

Mother Nature is not easily satisfied. She has been disappointed by so many Sustainability campaigns of so many corporates that she expects to be disappointed and says so clearly!

She is sarcastic, her tone, "Come, tell me it is not working, tell me it is going to take time, tell me that you are going to do it at your own pace and not at the pace which this planet needs"

And, the Apple team goes on to disappoint her on her expectation of getting disappointed!

They go on to tell her that plastic is going to be completely phased out from Apple by next year, they are already running on 100% clean electricity, and not only Apple but also their suppliers are committed to 100% renewable electricity. The Apple team talks about how they are not just planting trees but planting entire forests in places like Paraguay and Brazil, restoring mangroves in Colombia, and grasslands in Kenya to permanently remove the carbon footprints. And, a huge 63 billion gallon reduction in water usage.

Finally, we see Tim Cook committing to Mother Nature that ALL of Apple products will be carbon neutral by 2030. All of them.

It's a very different way of bringing out your sustainability report from those fine footprints of the corporate report out into the open.

And, what a way to do that!

Simply brilliant.

One viewing and I remember all stats stated by Apple. And, that is the endeavor!!

In between, very cleverly weaving in "Apple Swag" as uttered by Mother Nature - was simply an awesome way of bragging about your brand!

Take a look. This ad is setting standards for how sustainability reports should be done going forward.

2. The Cricket World Cup Squad Intro from NewZealand:

You don't see the cricketers who have made the squad for the world cup. You just don't see them anywhere in this ad. Instead, you see their names being told by their near and dear.

The cute little sons and daughters, the wife or the fiancee or the parents or the grandma introducing their family member who has been selected for the squad - charming way of introducing the person.

They are not just cricketers. They are people too. They have families too. They are like you and me in all those respects.

And, Cricket, the game, has to unite all of us at the end of the day.

This ad sows the seeds of looking at players and the game as a way of looking at humanity itself.

Two great ads. Do watch!