Author StopPress Team

The cynics say that Coca-Cola has harvested happiness as a marketing concept over the years in an effort to avoid dealing with the unhappiness sugary drinks can bring through obesity (this was brilliantly skewered by ‘The Real Beers’ video). But ever since the famous multi-cultural ‘I’d like to buy the world a Coke’ ad, Coca-Cola has claimed that it uses its global reach to try and bring people together. And it’s tried to do just that on the sub-continent with a three-minute clip by Leo Burnett that links up Pakistanis and Indians through a pair of connected vending machines.

How do you promote the launch of ‘Europe’s first fully-digital mobile bank’? You connect 227 mobile devices together and get a 60-strong orchestra to play a digital version of Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen.

Bay of Plenty gets a new attitude (and along with it a new slogan) as the region attempts to squeeze into the top four tourist destinations in New Zealand.

We’ve seen Samsung take the fight to Apple. Now Microsoft is squaring up against the dominant tech force with an ad for its new Surface that uses a Siri-like voice to point out what the more expensive iPad doesn’t do.

The Manukau Institute of Technology and bcg2 took the animated approach in its last campaign. And it’s gone to the other end of the ad spectrum this time with a campaign starring Samoan media personalities Sela Alo and Pua Magasiva that confronts the misunderstandings many prospective students can have about studying in an effort to boost mid-year enrolments​.

Ahhh, the Falcon, that most graceful of winged creatures, and that most boganic of wheeled machines. Following news that Ford was ceasing manufacture in Australia, the 56-year-old model—one of the longest running nameplates in automotive history—will be no more come 2016. So in honour of the beast, here’s a collection of classic Falcon ads from the region that have run over the years, including the classic 1989 campaign that reportedly saw requests to drive the new ‘Ford Lately’ go through the roof.

Yesterday’s Xbox One reveal summarised in under two minutes. As someone who woke up at 5 AM to watch the announcement I can whole-heartedly say, this is pretty much bang on the money.

Given the recent ructions in the world of print media—and, to a lesser extent, broadcast media—and the fact that the job of newspaper journalist was recently ranked as the worst job in a recent US survey, this nzherald.co.nz headline shows some surprising results.

Last year, Getty Images and its Brazilian agency AlmapBBDO released a commercial called ‘From Love to Bingo’, a collection of stock imagery that told a love story and clocked up almost three million views on The Yoob. And the pairing have continued on a similar path with their latest effort, ’85 seconds’.

Westpac did it last year at 79 Queen St, and BNZ has followed suit with its own ‘concept store’ across the road at 80 Queen St.

From the Chrome speed tests to ‘Here’s to the Moms’ to the Cannes grand prix-winning Project Rebrief, Google’s advertising is usually of a very high standard. And it’s done it again with this nerd fest of a 90 second commercial for Chrome that charts the evolution of the internet and shows that ‘we’re building the web together’.

In the first instalment of an ongoing series where we showcase some of Getty Images’ best material, check out this selection of aerial, slow-mo, time-lapse and in-motion videos courtesy of the Red Bull Media House.

Some interesting stats coming from Spotify about the music streaming service’s first year in the country, including most streamed artists, songs and popular local acts. Updated with Nielsen numbers.

Editing guru Swede Mason is responsible for what is undoubtedly the best song ever: a homage to buttery biscuit bases and MasterChef. And he’s returned with a fresh clip that celebrates the wonders of baking. Need a new theme tune New Zealand’s Hottest Home Baker?

Semi-Permanent is back in Auckland for its ninth year, bringing together designers, artists, film makers and mould breakers of all sorts – for a menagerie of creative thinking. And we’ve got two tickets to give away to this delightful thinkfest.

They say the customer is always right. But ‘they’ have probably never flown on a budget airline. Air New Zealand is lauded for its customer service and, as a result, has legions of loyal fans. But other airlines focus on price at the expense of almost everything else and have legions of loyal haters. And in the world of aviation, it’s a strategy that seems to work.

Wired magazine celebrated its 20th anniversary recently with a special issue dedicated to “the people, their companies, and their ideas that have shaped the future we live in today”. Anyone interested in where we are now and how we got there would be well-advised to give it a squizz. And anyone hoping to get a glimpse at what the golden age of magazines looked like would be well-advised to check out the story of how Wired came to exist.