LSN : News : Australian Open adopts animated live streams to transform sports viewing

Britannia’s tree-friendly billboards redefine outdoor advertising

Britannia, Shaped By Nature for Britannia Industries, campaign by Coral Media, India

India – Food product manufacturer Britannia and creative agency Talented are turning the traditional approach to billboards on its head with their latest campaign, Nature Shapes Britannia. Instead of treating trees as obstacles, the campaign embraces them with billboards that fit into the natural surroundings.

Deployed across Hyderabad, Kolkata, Meerut and Pune, the billboards bend and curve around urban trees, reinforcing Britannia’s sustainability commitments. Each display highlights the company’s environmental initiatives, including plastic neutrality, waste management and water stewardship.

‘Executing the campaign required a complete reversal of traditional billboard site selection,’ Aabhaas Shreshtha, creative and founding member of Talented, told Afaqs. The team scouted locations where trees significantly overlapped with ad space, ensuring the billboards complemented rather than competed with nature.

Beyond innovative design, the billboards use 100% biodegradable cotton, exceeding environmental regulations. ‘Bangalore is the only city which has a mandate that your billboard material has to be biodegradable. But we went all out on that anyway,’ said PG Aditiya, co-founder and CCO of Talented.

For more fresh perspectives on eco-conscious advertising, head to our Rebranding Nature design snapshot.

Strategic opportunity

Consider turning sustainability compliance into a compelling brand story

Australian Open adopts animated live streams to transform sports viewing

Australia – The Australian Open 2025 is pioneering a new era of sports broadcasting with animated live streams reminiscent of Wii Sports.

Originally devised as a workaround for YouTube’s copyright restrictions, the tech-driven broadcasts have become viral, offering fans a fresh, playful way to experience tennis.

Powered by 12 tracking cameras and 29 motion points, the system captures players’ real-time movements with a slight delay, translating stars including Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff into cartoonish avatars. Despite its imperfections – the avatars don’t yet have fingers – the animation closely mirrors reality.

Whether gimmick or game-changer, this animated experiment proves that digital-era sports coverage is only just getting started. Our Game-Changers: The Future of Sports Fandom report unpacks the opportunities in the convergence of sports and gaming as how we watch and engage with sports evolves.

Australian Open Wii Sports-style coverage, Australia

Strategic opportunity

Experiment with gamifying sports broadcasts by integrating AR, animation and interactive elements to enhance fan engagement and offer multi-view experiences tailored to younger, tech-savvy audiences

Stat: Violence increasingly seen as an acceptable tool for change

ShareWithCare by Deutsche Telekom, Germany

Global – The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a seismic shift in public sentiment, with worldwide trust in institutions crumbling and grievance replacing fear as the dominant emotion. The survey, spanning 32,000 people across 28 countries, highlights growing frustration with business, government, media and NGOs, with many feeling alienated and willing to push for change by any means necessary.

There has been a ‘significant change’ in employees being worried that their job security is threatened by globalisation and technology. International trade conflicts were cited by 62% of respondents, while automation or lack of training were concerns for 58%.

Alarmingly, 53% of those aged 18–34, many of whom are members of Generation Z, see violence as an acceptable tool for change. The report also identifies global trust inequality, finding that people from low income groups are ‘far less trusting’ of institutions than those with high incomes.

Edelman CEO Richard Edelman stresses the urgent need to rebuild economic optimism: ‘When people see solutions, they’re more hopeful and willing to sacrifice for the greater good,’ he wrote in an opinion article for Fortune.

The findings from the new Trust Barometer were explored at an online event held during the recent World Economic Forum, featuring leaders from Microsoft, Heineken and Suntory Holdings.

Explore our Gen Z Now and Next: From Vision to Contradiction macrotrend report for the latest insights on this cohort.

Strategic opportunity

Businesses must rebuild trust through transparency, ethical leadership and fact-based decisions while addressing AI fears and misinformation through fact-checking partnerships and verified communication