Author StopPress Team

Netflix, which is soon to launch in New Zealand, has been leading the way when it comes to native ad content, with some classy, expensive and bespoke executions. And its latest effort via The Atlantic aims to promote the third season of its original series House of Cards by focusing on the real partnerships and power dynamics between US presidents and their spouses.

Andrew Hawley, the managing director of Touchcast was recently elected to the CAANZ executive board, an appointment that served as commendation for the quality of the digital work his agency has delivered since its inception. Recently, Touchcast was ranked 6th fastest growing company in New Zealand, and 46th fastest growing tech company in Asia Pacific. Touchcast’s work has featured at the RSVP and NZDM Awards in New Zealand, the Caples Awards in New York, at Cannes, the Future Marketing Awards for Asia Pacific Region, and the Best Design Awards in New Zealand. He has been on the digital jury of the Clio awards in Miami, and has judged the Axis and Effie Awards in New Zealand several times. And given his interest in creating digital experiences, StopPress recently sent him a few questions on how the interactive channel is evolving and what challenges this is introducing.

In the early ’90s, video cameras for personal use were large clunky devices that most often delivered grainy footage to video cassettes that would almost invariably collect dust in a box located in some forgotten corner of the house. But as technology advanced the cameras became smaller and cheaper, and the quality they delivered improved drastically. Nowhere is the this trend more evident than in the story that underpins the rise of Go Pro. The evolution of camera technology has allowed an entire generation to capture footage and share experiences that were once restricted to only the person participating in them.

Durex has poked a satirical stick at tech advertising in a new campaign that questions what type of smartphone technology might help to improve a couple’s sex life. In keeping with the irreverent tone that has come to typify the brand, the ad then concludes by saying that the answers lies in the off button.

Ahhhh, y-fronts. The long-serving, long-suffering undergarment of choice of Homer Simpson, Walter White and probably millions of Kiwi men over the years. And Jockey is celebrating its invention of the famous style 80 years ago by taking us back to 1960.

Recently, a quirky Kimberly-Clark ad for its U by Kotex Ultrathins range, was transported from Australia to the Kiwi market. Featuring a selection of ladies putting on exaggerated cowboy walks, the new campaign, called ‘Ditch the cowboy walk’, aims to draw attention to that fact that the new product eliminates the “gross feeling” that accompanies wearing a pad.

Our weekly wrap of good things, strange things, funny things and other things from inside the intertubes.

Kevin Bacon stars in a new campaign from Gray New York promoting eggs on behalf of the American Egg Board, because what goes best with eggs? Bacon, and in the Kevin variety apparently.

The Breeze has released its latest marketing campaign, which features classic ’80s band Spandau Ballet performing their classic hit ‘True’.

WWF in Russia has launched a cool new initiative created by the crew at Hungry Boys in Moscow to help save tigers by getting people to race them through a new app. If participants lose they have to donate.

E-commerce brands like Airbnb and Net-a-Porter are launching magazines. Media companies are opening cafes. And now Google has opened its first bricks and mortar retail store in the UK to compete with its High St rival, Apple.

Here at StopPress we like our whisk(e)y to taste like the inside of a fireplace. But there are a variety of beverage predilections and Portland man Tony Peniche has made nearly $196,000 on Kickstarter by offering to cater to them with oak sticks that claim to cheat time.

In the latest edition of the ‘Rise of the machines’ series, we chat to Vodafone’s general manager of digital and social media Geri Ellis on how the rapid progression in digital technology is impacting the teams that sit on the client side of the industry.

The Turing Test is often used as a benchmark for establishing the humanity of artificial intelligence and the media was frothing at the mouth last year when a chatbot called Eugene Goostman posed as a 34-year-old boy from Odessa and supposedly passed the test by convincing 33 percent of the participants they were conversing with a human. There’s no doubt machines are getting smarter (or, at least, getting better at answering questions). So can you tell the difference between human and robot writing? Find out by taking a test created by The New York Times.

Following on from last week’s release of its Infinity software suite, advertising technology company Kenshoo has now released an app update that enables advertisers to manage their marketing campaigns remotely. Added to the foundation of Anywhere app, the update enables marketers to adjust elements of a campaign in real time in response to any changes in circumstances.

An awareness campaign conducted by Cancer Research UK earlier this month illustrated how people tend to ignore things that are blatantly obvious. Developed by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and titled ‘The Lump’, the campaign features a bulge on a busy street that grows with each passing day.

Back in 2011, Vogel’s received plaudits for a pun-laden outdoor campaign that cheekily tapped into the hype around the Rugby World Cup, even though it wasn’t a sponsor. And it’s trying something similar during the Cricket World Cup.

Yup, you better belieb it, Justin Bieber has now parodied his own “not photoshopped” Calvin Klein ads with Jeff Ross dressed as model Lara Stone. Too soon? Apparently not.

We see them everyday. These strange, hyper-real, ultra-bright, excessively cheesy stock images. They hardly penetrate the consciousness anymore, but with a bit of tweaking and some superior photo-shopping skills, the stock photos used to promote Vince Vaughn’s new film Unfinished Business do.

Modern humans already have plenty of gadgets around them. Now they have gadgets to put on them. And Apple is the latest to enter the wearables market with the launch of the Apple Watch, which will go on sale in April 24 in nine countries and in New Zealand later in the year. And, in traditional Apple style, the product has taken centre stage in the advertising.

The way we see men and women is evolving, and many brands have started noticing and reflecting this in their advertising. To highlight some of these examples during International Women’s Day, Getty Images recently compiled short list of the international ads that are leading the charge in representing women as powerful, independent and capable. Plus: Getty looks at the growing trend of androgyny in representations of men and women.

Last year in April, Trustpower’s research team found that many Kiwis didn’t realise that the company offered services beyond energy. To counter this problem and showcase its broadband, phone and gas services to potential customers, the company launched ‘The better together’ campaign, which aimed to highlight the benefits of having a single multi-utility bill. The campaign was initially limited to Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington, but now Trustpower has launched its first nationwide campaign to share its multi-utility story with more Kiwis.

Uber has delivered kittens and ice-creams as part of its promotional activities in the past. And now, as part of a campaign via Whybin\TBWA to launch the new PlayStation 4 game The Order: 1886, it’s embraced horse-power.

Launched in the lead up to International Women’s Day this Sunday, a new campaign by creative agency WCRS for not-for-profit organisation Women’s Aid featuring an interactive billboard that depicts an abused woman being healed when passersby look at it. The campaign is powered by face recognition technology, and aims to encourage people not to ignore the issue of domestic violence.