Ishrath Nawaz On Why Great Advertising Isn’t Advertising Anymore

Look around. Everything in advertising feels the same.

The same polished visuals. The same “human stories.” The same safe, predictable messaging.

It’s all forgettable.

Ishrath Nawaz thinks differently. For him, the best advertising doesn’t look like advertising at all. Instead of interrupting people’s lives with ads, he believes in embedding brands into culture—by turning everyday actions into powerful brand moments.

This isn’t theory. The smartest brands are already doing this. Let’s break down what Nawaz’s philosophy looks like in action—and why it’s working.

What if Your Brand Didn’t Just Speak—But Acted?

The biggest mistake in marketing today? Thinking the only way to communicate with people is through traditional advertising channels.

Nawaz sees it differently. He believes brands shouldn’t just talk about their values; they should demonstrate them through experiences.

Case Study #1: Heineken’s ‘Go Places’ Campaign

Most job ads are painfully boring. A list of qualifications, a generic mission statement, maybe a picture of happy employees.

Heineken flipped the script. Instead of a standard hiring ad, they launched ‘Go Places’—a highly interactive digital experience that felt more like a game than a job application.

Candidates weren’t just asked to submit résumés. They had to go through a rapid-fire 12-question challenge that tested their personality, creativity, and ability to think fast. It wasn’t about filtering applicants—it was about making people want to work for Heineken.

The result?

●        300% increase in job applications.

●        Viral attention across social media.

●        A recruiting campaign that doubled as brand advertising.

This is exactly the kind of approach Nawaz champions—where marketing isn’t a separate function but is baked into the company’s actual operations.

Case Study #2: Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” Campaign

Think about it. Coke has been around for over a century. How do you make an iconic product fresh again?

By making it personal.

Instead of launching a new ad campaign, Coca-Cola changed their packaging—replacing their logo with popular names like “John,” “Emma,” and “Chris.” The message was simple: buy a Coke, share it with a friend.

No big-budget commercial. No complex storytelling. Just a small tweak that made millions of people actively engage with the brand.

The impact?

●        Sales jumped by 7% in the U.S. (after years of decline).

●        Social media exploded with user-generated content as people searched for their names.

●        It rolled out in over 80 countries, becoming one of Coke’s most successful campaigns ever.

This is the type of “advertising” Nawaz pushes for—where the product itself becomes the message.

Thinking Beyond the “Ad”

For Nawaz, advertising isn’t about telling a brand story anymore—it’s about making the brand behave in a way that is the story.

This approach works because:

1. It embeds brands into real life, not just screens.
2. It creates movements, not marketing noise.
3. It forces brands to think about what they actually stand for.

The brands that win today aren’t the ones with the biggest budgets. They’re the ones that understand how to turn ordinary business actions into extraordinary brand moments.

Key Takeaways from Ishrath Nawaz’s Playbook

●        If your brand disappeared tomorrow, would people notice? If not, you’re doing branding wrong.

●        Stop telling people what your brand stands for. Find ways to demonstrate it in action.

●        Look beyond traditional advertising spaces. Every touchpoint—hiring, product packaging, customer interactions—can be a marketing moment.

The Brands That Matter, Do Things That Matter

Ishrath Nawaz isn’t in the business of making ads. He’s in the business of making brands behave in ways that make advertising unnecessary.

If more brands took his approach, they wouldn’t need to fight for attention.

They’d simply earn it.