What do Cisco Webex, Football, and RuPaul Have in Common?

The Big Game

Two things happened this week that motivated me to write this. First, there’s building excitement for one of the most anticipated and watched games in American sports, as the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs take to the field this Sunday. I’ll be among the many of us based in the San Francisco Bay Area who will be cheering on our home team!

The second is this Instagram post from RuPaul, who appeared in a Webex commercial during the big game back in 2000 – at a time when it was still very early days in terms of transforming the way people worked and collaborated.

Flashback 20 Years Ago

In the 2000 commercial, RuPaul addresses a group of folks barely listening to a boring presentation in what appears to be a traditional boardroom setting. Enter the fabulous RuPaul, who says: “Girl, you could be at home, sipping a latte in lingerie and still make this meeting. Don’t you have better places to be?”

As a marketer with a deep appreciation for the power of advertising, it’s fun to flashback and admire both the innovative and creative DNA that is Webex which is found in this decades-old commercial.

Now, two decades later, we live in a world that continues to push the boundaries of the changing face of work: from new work styles (people collaborating and contributing from anywhere at any time), new workflows and new workspaces.

The Innovation Continues

Webex continues to be at the forefront of driving the workplace of the future. Just this week, we infused the platform with AI to deliver even more effective, meaningful and secure user experiences, introducing an amazing array of new collaboration solutions at Cisco Live Barcelona. The new Webex Assistant for Meetings and Webex Contact Center Enterprise, the new Webex Room USB entry-level solution, and expanded data residency for Webex Teams.

Here’s a great short video clip of industry analyst, Zeus Kerravala, sharing his perspective on these latest innovations.

Enjoy Game Day

Hope you found this flashback as fun as I did.

And, for all you football fans reading this: enjoy the game and this year’s commercials. Tell me on Twitter (@aruna13) what your favorite commercial from today (or even all-time) is. I’d love to know!