Author StopPress Team

The final lead up to the national election gives the citizens of the country the unique pleasure of being able to see politicians dressed in formal attire standing in the rain, feigning smiles and waving at all the cars driving by. It’s unclear whether such seemingly desperate measures have any sway over the location of the ticks on election day, but they are entertaining nonetheless. Traditionally, these last-ditch efforts by political parties have been limited to doing impersonations of brand mascots on street corners, but in a digitised world they are becoming more sophisticated. These days, politicians recognise that political messages have the capacity to reach a wider audience if they are delivered online. And for this reason many the nation’s parties have taken to the internet to consolidate their street-based efforts.

The Old Spice mandroid’s fraught romantic adventures have brought much joy to the StopPress towers, although some have wondered whether it’s sexist or a parody of sexist ads featuring the product as an aphrodisiac. Now he (it?) is back with a new sports talkshow. Plus: the wonders of the Late Night Big Breakfast.

Despite Steve Jobs’ antipathy towards big screens, Apple launched the 14cm iPhone 6 Plus (and a couple of other things) last week. And Samsung, no stranger to taking swipes at its main mobile competitor, responded with a series of ads showing some disappointed Apple staff. Now it’s followed those up with another feisty spot that talks about the initial negative response to its big, “more productive, more innovative, more fun” Galaxy Note and the ensuing scramble from other manufacturers to follow suit.

In an effort to make the trend of second-screening a bit more interactive, a team of tech geniuses at MIT has developed a system that allows a smartphone user to interact with a laptop or tablet screen with a second device. And while the technology is still in its infancy, there are undoubtedly a few marketers around the world who are thinking up ways that it could be used in a campaign.

It’s a classic—albeit fairly rare—tale: someone has an idea for a business. Their friends, families and potential investors tell them it’s ridiculous. A few years later, it’s a runaway success. And if that happens to you, a new ad for the oft-controversial domain name company GoDaddy via Barton F Graf shows how inspirational business owners should react with humility and grace.

Architectural design firm Jasmax is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and, in keeping with the marketing zeitgeist, it asked punters to join in the fun by creating a short video showing “how architecture impacts and facilitates our everyday lives” (and at least one Jasmax project). And Jason Dobbs and his skateboarding son Cato took the $5,000 prize with a clip called A2B.

While The Civilian Party is jokingly proposing Hamilton become independent from New Zealand as part of its election campaign, Scotland actually gets a chance to decide whether to stick with the Brits or go it alone. No prizes for guessing which side Groundskeeper Willie is on. Plus: John Oliver’s plea for unity.

Politics is generally a pretty serious realm and this has been a pretty serious election. Dirty Politics. Moments of Truth. Colin Craig’s face. But over the years, parties like McGillicuddy Serious (best policies: mandatory homosexuality for 33 percent of the population and setting up a Frivolous Fraud Office to investigate any fraud deemed too silly for the Serious Fraud Office) and the Bill and Ben Party (best policy: “no policies, no promises, no disappointment”) have tried to see the funny side. Ben Uffindell, founder of satirical website The Civilian, added his name to that list for this election and, to the chagrin of many, The Civilian Party was given around $30,000 to spend on election advertising, which it’s used some of on a TV ad to promote its desire to declare independence from Hamilton.

Uncle Bully was one of Cliff Curtis’s first major screen parts and is a role he is still teased about 20 years later. But it means he isn’t teased for the Tip Top stunner he starred in four years before Once Were Warriors came along.

Nike is rightfully renowned as one of the world’s most innovative companies, and its approach to marketing those innovations is similarly creative. The company kicked off in 1964 and it released its first swoosh-enabled shoe in 1971 and since then it has released a huge array of footwear. So, as part of its Genealogy of Innovation campaign, 200 pairs have been brought together in a two minute film that charts “seven, game-changing eras”: Genesis, Reformation, Golden Age, Enlightenment, Rennaissance, Transformation and Revolution.

While the rest of the world is intent on trying to come to grips with what the digital world offers, Ikea seems satisfied in sticking with the comfort of the conventional. This was seen recently when the high-end furniture company re-imagined its annual catalogue as a state-of-the art bookbook. But working in a conventional channel doesn’t always imply simplicity. Recently, in an effort to celebrate the opening of its 30th store in France, Ikea constructed a nine-metre-high climbing wall in Clermont-Ferrand.

Following on from its short film featuring Jude Law earlier this year, Johnnie Walker is now experimenting with a range of other mediums to tell its story, including live theatrical performances and strategic event sponsorships.

In 2009, the national director of Family First NZ Bob McCoskrie labelled a St Matthew in the City billboard “insensitive and objectionable to many people”. And despite continued condemnation from the more puritanical ranks of society, the church has continued to invite controversy by launching a range of follow-on advertisements, a quirky e-campaign and a reference to a campaign from the underworld-loving Hell Pizza. And now, in a move that aims to make the public complicit in its billboard controversy, the Auckland church is hosting a competition that requires Kiwis to design a billboard to promote the The Kensington Swan season of Jesus Christ Superstar, which plays at the Q Theatre from 30 October.

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

Lurpak butter is a brand that has perfected the art of food porn with a range of mouthwatering recent ads. And Marks & Spencer, no stranger to the art itself, has continued that fine tradition with its latest campaign, ‘Adventures in Imagination’, by RKCR/Y&R. Plus: some other glorious food ads.

The next big battleground for the major tech players seems to be the home. Google has its eyes on that prize with the purchase of Nest, ​companies like GE and Cisco are betting big on the internet of things and, closer to home, Spark’s Digilife offer is gunning for the early adopters. And Samsung is also hoping to capitalise on this evolution, with a clever experiential activation called Home Smart Home set to launch in Auckland soon that aims to show how some of its products can fit into the homes of the future—and help make life easier.

Samsung has successfully take the fight directly to Apple—and the fans willing to line up for their new toys—with The Next Big Thing is Already Here campaign. And after Apple launched the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, as well as the Apple Watch this week, it’s continued the ribbing with a series of ads that show a couple of ‘geniuses’ discussing the new ‘innovations’.