What do the Briscoes Lady and former Black Caps captain Stephen Fleming have in common? They’re the longest-serving brand ambassadors in New Zealand. The Briscoes Lady is Tammy Wells and she’s been fronting the advertising campaigns for this hugely successful retail outlet for more than 30 years!
It’s quite an achievement but Stephen Fleming had put in a few years too. For more than 20 years, Stephen has been the face of Fujitsu heat pumps in New Zealand. We think they’re the perfect match; a champion sportsman endorsing a winning brand. We’re not overstating things. We believe Fujitsu to be a truly world-class brand and it fully deserves its billing as “New Zealand’s favourite air.” This is why we are so proud to have the brand as part of our heat pump range.
Fujitsu couldn’t ask for a better brand ambassador than Stephen Fleming. He is widely respected within local sporting circles, as well as the wider community. Fleming was an elegant left-handed batsman, with a high score of 274 not out against Sri Lanka in 2003. There are two notable things to remember about this innings. It was in Sri Lanka, where the heat and humidity are truly energy sapping so it was a wonderful display of determination and concentration. Secondly, Fleming declared while he was not out. Instead of pushing on to reach the magical 300 run mark – and he would have been the first New Zealander to do so – he put his team first by declaring while in sight of what would have been a historic moment in New Zealand sport.
But it was as a captain that Fleming’s star shone brightest. He skippered New Zealand in 80 tests and was widely regarded as one of the smartest tacticians in the game. This coincided with something of a golden period in New Zealand cricket with Fleming leading his team to 28 test victories, including series wins over heavyweights like England and India. He was no slouch in the one day format either, leading New Zealand to their first major one-day trophy, the 2000 ICC Knockout tournament. It was around this time that Shane Warne called Fleming the best captain in world cricket. Quite a compliment!
Fleming’s cricket brain saw him in demand once he retired. He played for the Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League before being appointed as coach in 2009, where he led the team to three titles in 2010, 2011 and again in 2018.
There’s hope Stephen Fleming might be interested in coaching the Black Caps one day. His intelligence, tactical ability and people skills which served him so well as a captain make him the perfect candidate for the role. In the meantime, Fujitsu heat pumps are thrilled to have him as their leader on the national stage! A winning heat pump brand deserves a champion to endorse them, and Stephen Fleming certainly fits the bill.