Rise - Google | Clapboard Ad Archive

Google Australia’s Rise campaign, created by 72andSunny, is a sharp articulation of how technology brands can embed themselves into the fabric of community empowerment, leveraging the connective utility of Search and Maps as enablers for positive social outcomes. Launched in the Electronics and Technology market category in 2022, the campaign sets its story in motion with a collaboration between Google and Danzal Baker (Baker Boy), a Yolngu artist who has become a widely respected mentor for Indigenous youth and was recognized as Young Australian of the Year, adding cultural weight and authenticity to the message. The campaign’s central narrative — a mentor enabling rising musical talent Mikayla Mununggurr to seize her moment with practical support, facilitated in key ways by Google’s products — capitalizes on a format Clapboard would classify as FORMAT#5—Exemplary Story, where the brand’s technology is not a mere backdrop but an essential lever enabling transformation. This is not brand purpose for its own sake but a tightly constructed example of how digital tools can bridge access gaps and break down barriers, dramatized through the lens of a compelling mentorship arc rooted in real, ongoing community action. By foregrounding Indigenous voices and framing Baker Boy’s mentorship as both narrative inspiration and social proof, the campaign situates Google as responsive to the cultural context of contemporary Australia and invested in the progress of underrepresented communities, reaching audiences who seek both practical empowerment and authentic representation. 72andSunny’s strategic balancing of emotional, personal narrative with direct product utility serves to reinforce Google’s market positioning as the everyday agent of helpfulness — a functionally indispensable technology brand that is also visibly engaged with societal progress. In a category frequently dominated by abstract promises of transformation, Rise succeeds by operationalizing its value proposition: turning mentorship from an intangible ideal into a sequence of tangible actions made possible by Google, with clear on-screen demonstrations of Search and Maps in service of ambition, navigation, and connection. The campaign earns 68/100 in Clapboard’s global creative archive. For an industry recalibrating around authenticity and impact, Rise signals the competitive strength of campaigns that weave cultural specificity and real-world application into the brand story, elevating the role of technology from passive enabler to active catalyst for personal and communal advancement.