Author StopPress Team

While playing actual board games seems increasingly anachronistic at a time when digital screens continually invade our space, there’s still a nostalgic appeal. And by turning a love story into a word nerd’s anagram fest, Scrabble manages to nail it.

Those who enjoy the seamless and simplified branding of Huffer might just enjoy a current solo exhibition of the work of Ken Griffen, the former artistic director of the brand who is exhibiting at Auckland’s Allpress gallery with his first solo show Face Value until 6 June.

Following on from last launch of its digital app hub for small- to medium-sized businesses, Spark has now confirmed that it will begin offering smarthome security services later this year—adding yet another digital trinket to its growing portfolio of tools for both consumers and business people. The telco—a descriptor that’s becoming increasingly inaccurate—will beta launch the product called Morepork before the end of the week, enabling users to control and monitor their homes remotely via their smartphones.

Technology has a history of subversion. Apple’s classic 1984 ad showed its beliefs very literally. Streaming and internet-enabled piracy are changing the media and entertainment business. Google changed the way we advertise. And now businesses like Airbnb, Uber and many others are fighting against powerful incumbents and antiquated regulation to give consumers better services. While the confiscation of a few cowbells from a rugby game at Westpac Stadium in Wellington certainly isn’t in the same category, MEA Mobile and app partner (and Chiefs sponsor) Deosan have showed their subversive side by developing a digital substitute for Chiefs fans.

The world of LinkedIn is a networker’s paradise (as the satirical slogan summarises ‘connect with people for no reason at all’). And it turns out it also a musical punster’s paradise, with YouTube user Jim Mortleman and a few others replicating the words of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody with screenshots from the social network. Anne Ayoade the Wayne Bloss indeed.

A rather lonely-seeming chap picks up a wee pup to be his ultimate companion in this Purina Puppy Chow ad created with BuzzFeed which has already had millions of views after being released less than a week ago.

Some estimates suggest that as much as 43 percent of all jobs currently existing will be automated by 2033, leading to millions of people in the workforce having to find new jobs. This obviously puts many of us in an awkward position in that our responsibilities might one day decline into polishing the robot that can do our job much faster and more accurately than what we ever could. So to give workers an indication of how much risk automation poses to them, the National Public Radio (NPR) website has released an interactive web tool that gives visitors an indication of how likely it is that a robot will one day do their jobs.

Much like our taste in shoes, haircuts and dairy lollies, our understanding of constitutes the ideal home is very much a matter of personal preference. And although rising house prices has made it quite difficult for homebuyers to afford that perfect abode, Trade Me Property has over the last ten years connected various Kiwis with their dream homes—and, as it turns out, Kiwi tastes can at times be weird and wonderful. So, in celebration of its tenth anniversary, Trade Me Property has launched a digital campaign that showcases six of the most memorable houses that have been sold via site over the last decade.

During the New Zealand Radio Awards, hosts Andrew Mulligan and Bryce Casey shared a series of faux Tweets supposedly posted by a series of celebrities during the event. Prime minister John Key, X Factor NZ host Dominic Bowden and even Queen Elizabeth (or Lizzie as she refers to herself) were victims of Photoshopped Tweets on the night.

In an effort to show drivers that they have an alternative to breathing in exhaust fumes for hours a day, Vespa has released a clever campaign via Y&R Ecuador that feeds an ad onto the Waze navigation app, telling drivers how much faster they would reach their destination if they were on two wheels. While the campaign certainly does make the point that it might be time for drivers to invest in an alternative mode of transport, it will probably also contribute to road rage levels—because let’s face it, there’s nothing quite as annoying as watching motorcyclists effortlessly weave their way through traffic. And knowing that they are reaching their destinations about three days before you do makes it all so much worse.

Venture capitalist Mary Meeker’s annual State of the Internet presentation has become required reading for those interested in how the online era is affecting human behaviour—and so business, transport, security, healthcare, education, communication, regulation and pretty much everything else. And the 2015 version once again condenses the major tech-inspired trends in one handy slide deck.

A nationwide survey of office workers conducted by research agency Perceptive shows that 81 percent of Kiwi office workers believe the physical environment at their workplace has an impact on their happiness and job satisfaction, while nine out of ten workers agree that if they are happy at work, they are more productive. So StopPress looks at a few examples that are getting spatial design right. PLUS: galleries of hip office spaces from ad land and beyond.

The sad lives of India’s street dogs were highlighted in this clever clip by Ogilvy Mumbai for Mumbai-based animal welfare organisation World for all Animal Care and Adoptions. The video follows a day in the life of a stray dog, which has a camera mounted on its body. It runs through the streets of Mumbai, digging through rubbish and drinking dirty water while cruel locals kick at it and taunt it.

Local publications have been filled with all the typical Argentinean features, including glorious steaks, fanatic football scenes, and elegant tango steps. And one article in the Herald honoured the street art of the nation by using the colourful splash of some graffiti as its leading image. And while this piece of street art is eye-catching, the text featured on it is incongruous to say the least.

Soon the nation will be bombarded with Rugby World Cup-related ads, whether from the tournament’s family of sponsors, the national sponsors, the ambushers or even the teams themselves. And MasterCard is one of the first of the bunch to get in on the act, bringing back its long-time mascot Tim for his fourth run.