Author StopPress Team

Steinlager, Air New Zealand, ANZ, ASB and Cancer Society take centre stage this week.

Studies have shown that as many 90 percent of all arsonists are male. And a few candle-making companies are trying to take advantage of this proclivity in men to set things alight.

Graphite, Carnival, Reactor, Gnarly and Kaboom are just some of the flavours that V has introduced to varying degrees of success over the last few years, and the company is continuing this trend by releasing two fresh variations. But this time, instead of giving the drinks names that would be better suited to comic book villains, the energy drinks company has commissioned Jono and Ben to appear on the respective cans.

Private mental health, drug and alcohol centre Capri Hospital has released four new ads in conjunction with its brand refresh, with the help of Lachlan McPherson & Friends.

Worried about putting your greasy mitts all over your phone to take a photo while you’re munching on some dirty bird? Then this invention is not for you.

Like many entrepreneurs, Kirsten Taylor served as the guinea pig during the testing phase for her product. And after being impressed by the results, she decided to make it available to consumers.

“Is your skin colour holding you back? Are you tired of systemic prejudice ruining your day?”

The human urge to collect is a powerful one (and makes for excellent television). And our local supermarkets have been tapping into this urge in recent years, whether through tiny groceries or animal cards. In pretty much every case, the nation seems to have gone completely mad for them, with swap meets being organised, black markets being established and kids regularly tugging on parents’ pants demanding the full set and the associated plastic tat. Now Countdown has struck up a deal with Disney Pixar for its latest collectables campaign, Domino Stars.

Providing Kiwi families with everything from baby food to its classic tomato sauce, Wattie’s has a place in the heart of many New Zealand families. However, with its latest Google ad, it appears that Wattie’s has slightly changed its marketing strategy and is prepared to launch a new R-rated product.

With Google continuing its delve into Skynet territory, the internet conglomerate has brought us a new feature to “reminisce” over.

New Zealanders are well-accustomed to getting whacked over the head with rugby ads and sponsorship activations. And that only increases in the lead up to—and during—the Rugby World Cup. Many of the tournament sponsors like Land Rover, Heineken, Mastercard and Coca-Cola have played their first promotional hands. And, among the All Blacks sponsors, Adidas has embraced the players’ inner animals for Force of Black, Air New Zealand has upped its sponsorship and its efforts around the #crazyaboutrugby platform, Steinlager has teased the return of the white can and NZ Rugby even decided to do its own campaign. Now Ford and JWT have joined in with an online video campaign called The Driven that talks to three All Blacks about their driving habits and their favourite models.

The second episode of Kiwibank’s KB Series featuring Jamie Curry is out. In this episode, Curry has moved into her new flat in Auckland and is attempting to navigate herself through the beginnings of adult life, which she does with much uncertainty and awkwardness.

Following on from a story we wrote today which delves into the discrimination against gingers, nor should male cheerleaders be put down, as humorously explored by this Foster’s ad which provides an autobiographical account of the life of the male cheerleader.

News is bad, mmmmmkay. And the often negative, simplistic and sensationalist stories favoured by the media—and the ‘if it bleeds it leads’ mentality that was skewered brilliantly in Nightcrawler—often clouds the fact that, by many measures, there has never been a better time to be alive. There have been plenty of efforts at focusing on good news rather than bad, like The Philosopher’s Mail or, more virally, Upworthy. And, as part of its ‘Is Mankind? campaign, Airbnb is trying to do the same by producing the ‘Daily Kindness Bulletin’ and showcasing what it feels is some much-needed positivity.

Over 9000 designs were submitted online as part of the government’s $27 million flag consideration campaign (and many of them were ‘avin’ a laff). But businessman and philanthropist Gareth Morgan, who is a big proponent of changing the flag—”to bury this artefact that tells a lie and is an insult to Maoridom”—didn’t feel the brief was adequate, didn’t feel people understood the history of the existing flag and didn’t feel the Treaty of Waitangi was being placed at the core of the process. So he decided to stump up $20k for an alternative competition and incentivise designers to come up with something that would tell the story of New Zealand. And Auckland design agency Studio Alexander beat out around 1000 entries for the prize with ‘Wā kāinga / Home’.

For the 14th time, New Zealand’s most trusted brands have been named by Reader’s Digest and the top three—Whittaker’s, Dettol and Toyota—remains unchanged from last year, with Whittaker’s making it four years on the trot at the top.

As has been the case in previous years, we have whittled down the numerous weekly winners since our last survey to 52 contenders, from which an overall winner and the People’s Champion will be selected.

Tourism New Zealand has taken the unique approach of teaming up with Facebook and production company Symphony to create an online series for its latest campaign which follows the adventures of a young couple travelling around the country in a Kombi.