Author StopPress Team

This Sunday the All Blacks will take on the United States in a widely hyped exhibition match in Chicago. While the United States certainly can’t be described as a rugby playing nation, all 61,500 seats at the Soldier Field have been sold out. Such is the star power of the All Blacks that they are capable of filling a stadium in a country where rugby ranks below badminton, ten-pin bowling and pro wrestling in terms of popularity. And given the seeming supernatural ability of those who don the increasingly tight black shirts to make people interested in things that they don’t necessarily care about, it comes as little surprise that Kiwi brands have shown such a willingness to attach their labels to rugby players. StopPress looks at how rugby players are helping brands get noticed.

Following the recent unveiling of its ambitious ‘Boroughs’ project, which will see five high-tech basketball courts introduced in Auckland, Spark has now announced a marketing partnership with the National Basketball Association. As part of this deal, Spark will offer its home broadband customers NBA League Pass and League Pass Premium annual subscriptions beginning next month, giving customers 15 percent off the full price of either a full season or a one-month subscription.

Wires are so noughties. And, as speaker and headphone company JBL shows, they’re bloody annoying too. PLUS: eggs, popcorn, radiation and people struggling with everyday tasks.

As noted in a series of articles published on the Getty Images website last year, publishers and brands are starting to shift away from the stereotypical images that have until now typified what advertisers had constructed as perfection. The investigation into visual trends found that women were increasingly represented in positions of power, same-sex relationships were sometimes used in lieu of straight imagery, older people were appearing with greater regularity and beauty was being given a more flexible definition. Interestingly, the top 20 Getty images that have been downloaded by Kiwis since the beginning of the year also indicate that these international trends are starting to take shape in New Zealand. However, trends don’t emerge instantaneously, and this means there were still some more conventional images included on the final list.

Artist Sarah Larnach has lent her creative talents to winemaker Whitecliff for a new branding campaign that prominently features the company’s tree silhouette in the artwork.

OK Go has produced some phenomenally creative music videos, from treadmills to Rube Goldberg machines to visual trickery (that Apple seems to have been ‘inspired’ by). And its latest effort adds to that ouevre.

The elusive Honey-billed William is like catnip to brands (and media). And after he announced his return to rugby earlier this year, Adidas swooped in and signed him up as an ambassador in May. Now it’s released a short clip telling his story as part of its #leaveyourmark campaign. PLUS: exciting jersey-related news.

In times of crisis, the media is meant to serve as helpful tool in keeping the public informed. However, with the recent increase in the number of ebola cases around the world, some arms of the American media have seemingly lost their minds and resorted to blatant fear mongering instead. Here’s what a few comedians think about the ebola madness going on at the moment.

We live in increasingly visual times. And no-one’s got time to read those pesky words anymore. So every week we’ll choose a few of our favourite graphs. In honour of the heated discussion around magazines on these pages in recent days, here’s a couple that show what’s been happening to magazine circulation in New Zealand over the past ten years.

Between Two Ferns is a big favourite of those who prefer their chat shows awksome, and it hit the big time when president Obama stopped by to talk about the affordable healthcare act a few months ago. Now, after a bit of a break, Zach Galafianakis has returned ans his latest victim is Brad Pitt/Bradley Pitts/Bart Pit. And there’s even a cameo from Louis CK.

In 2009, at the age of 43, well-regarded suit and strategist Andy McDowell was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and, over the last two years, his condition has deteriorated substantially, making it difficult for him to continue working. As an industry stalwart, who launched The Department of Marketing in 2008, previously worked at FCB and Ogilvy & Mather, and also owned Nebula Marketing, McDowell has left an indelible mark on the lives of many in the Kiwi advertising space. And for this reason, a collection of advertising agencies have grouped together to raise funds to support him.

Steven Adams’ entertaining teaser video ‘Secret Codes’ for Spark’s mysterious basketball-related campaign clocked in with over 72,000 views—and all without any paid media support. Now he’s back for the second instalment, once again alongside Reggie Jackson, and it looks like he’s planning on doing something about the poor state of New Zealand’s outdoor courts *wink, wink*.

YouTube is continuing to push the massive appeal of its online personalities and the possibilities that exist for advertisers to get involved with them as part of its Google Preferred plan. Last year, it took to TV in the US to promote the channel with ads featuring Michelle Phan, Bethany Mota and Rosanna Pansino and it followed that up with ads starring Epic Rap Battles of History and Vice News. Now it’s employed the services of The Slow Mo Guys, who have 4.5 million subscribers and have clocked more than 438 million views of their videos to date.

To target young males for the upcoming release of Kiwi film The Dead Lands, Mobile Embrace has created a mobile game that features the protagonist Hongi, played in the film by actor James Rolleston, travelling along a green landscape.

At over $400, the Oculus Rift headset isn’t exactly something that most Kiwis would be willing to splash out on. Fortunately, there is an alternative option for those who want the virtual reality experience without the hefty pricetag attached. For the sum of US$24.95, those who don’t want to incur credit card debt can get the virtual reality experience via the DodoCase, a virtual reality headset made almost entirely out of cardboard.

Spark is on a mission to win over the Kiwi masses by offering deals that match the changing habits of its audiences. This started with the telco giving its subscribers access to Spotify Premium, and it is now being continued with a new offer, dubbed Socialiser, that gives social media consumers one gig of free data per month to use via the Twitter and Facebook apps.

Indie music darling FKA Twigs has been commissioned by some of the cooler Google executives to produce a new ad for Google Glass.

It’s nigh-on impossible to drive through the small North Island town of Bulls and not pull out a few cringeworthy puns. And science shows that the more you do it, the funnier it becomes, especially if you’re a dad. The town has fully embraced the bovine-based verbal gymnastics, and here’s a selection of brands that have done the same.

One youtuber shows us that iPhones can be used for a lot more than just taking selfies and texting your BFFs.

Marketing, particularly the advertising part thereof, is often vilified for its soulless commitment to pandering items with the goal of producing a profit. And while there is a fair amount of truth to this, every once in a while the very skills and creativity that generally cause the public to criticise advertising are used for causes nobler than selling random items. One such instance recently occurred with the announcement of the Cannes Chimera winners, an initiative, backed by Bill and Melinda Gates, which aims to bring ideas to life that can make the world a better place.

Not all superheroes wear spandex tights and possess other-worldly powers that defy the laws of physics. Some just have an inhuman capacity and willingness to help others. And these are the kinds of superheroes that are honoured in a new spot by creative agency Don’t Panic and Unit 9 directors Greg Hardes and Jacob Proud for not-for-profit organisation Save the Children.