First ASB Borrow the Māori All Blacks ad is a celebration of te wiki o te reo Māori

ASB has chosen Māori Language Week to reveal the first of a series of 100 Borrow the All Blacks, Māori All Blacks and Black Ferns ads it’s creating as part of a campaign to help support Kiwi businesses through tough times. Production is in full swing for the rest of the 100 ads which will be released progressively over coming weeks.

ASB announced in July that it was donating its New Zealand Rugby sponsorship, which includes the All Blacks, Black Ferns and Māori All Blacks, to 100 small and medium sized business customers in an effort to back New Zealand business and stimulate economic activity.

The first ad to be revealed features three Māori All Blacks players promoting specialist Māori and Pacific recruitment firm, Mana Recruitment, with a voice over in te reo Māori and bilingual subtitling. As well as shooting the ad free of charge, ASB is promoting it across social media platforms and featuring it on screens in the bank’s branch network this week.

Mana Recruitment was one of 1,700 small businesses that applied to be part of the campaign. Co-founder, Brad Walker, saw it as a great opportunity to help build the Auckland based company’s profile. 

"We started Mana Recruitment in 2008, specialising in placing candidates that bring rich cultural experience and expertise to New Zealand businesses. We’ve seen the development of the Māori economy blossom since then with increased demand for stronger Māori and Pacific Island representation across a number of organisations and businesses. Cultural diversity is a strength anywhere, but especially in business."

"These are tough times for many businesses and it's awesome seeing three Māori All Blacks players backing our business in this way. We're big rugby fans and this is not something we ever thought would happen. A huge thanks to ASB for the opportunity."

ASB’s executive general manager of Business Banking, Tim Deane, says small businesses like Mana Recruitment are the backbone of New Zealand’s economy, and ASB is excited to be able to give them a boost by leveraging its New Zealand Rugby sponsorship to create advertising content featuring some of the biggest names in the game.

"Our campaign is all about supporting some fantastic Kiwi businesses through these challenging COVID-19 times. It’s been a privilege working with Mana Recruitment and the Māori All Blacks to show our support for Māori Language Week."

Mana Recruitment’s ad can be viewed here at  https://www.asb.co.nz/blog/2020/09/first-asb-borrow-the-maori-all-blacks-ad-is-a-celebration-of-te-wiki-o-te-reo-maori.html

Borrow the All Blacks sits alongside a range of ASB initiatives aimed at helping small businesses through COVID-19. Visit the ASB Business Hub at https://businesshub.asb.co.nz/ for more information.