Cosmopolitan UK has taken its connection with its readers to the next level, by creating them a car.

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

TVNZ has dubbed Duke its ‘innovation station’ – a place where it can experiment with unconventional programming and scheduling decisions in a bid to attract a younger audience. We chat to channel’s programmer Ed Kindred about what this means and what he’s doing differently. PLUS: a look at how many Kiwis tuned into the the Paralympics this year.

You know it’s mayoral election time when your street, mailbox and favourite cafes become flooded with images of smiling candidates. It’s usually not long until someone puts spray paint to billboard, which often solidifies the images even more in one’s memory. But, having your face plastered over different types of media isn’t cheap and this is a luxury Auckland mayoral candidate Chloe Swarbrick, who has next-to-no funding, doesn’t have. We chat to Swarbrick about what it’s like running a campaign with little money and if this would have been possible at all ten years ago.

Firefly actor Alan Tudyk has lent his awkward brand of humour to Loot Crate, an organisation selling quirky items related to a variety of shows, video games and comic books. As it turns out, Tudyk is slightly better at playing a space cowboy on Firefly than at promoting products, making a range of hilarious mistakes as he attempts to explain Loot Crate to potential customers.

Apple has shown off the capabilities of its iPhone 7’s camera in low light in a new beautifully lit spot titled ‘Midnight’.

A slight international flavour to this week’s edition as we applaud HSBC, Skoda and Stoptober.

The latest issue of Mindfood Style hit the shelves this week, featuring 240 glossy pages of luxury fashion themed editorial and advertorial. We speak to editor in chief Michael McHugh about the market for international luxury brands in New Zealand and why magazine ads still work.

An new ‘Free The Bid’ initiative is sweeping adland aimed at encouraging agencies to include female directors at the bidding stage for commercials.

Earlier this month, Westpac released the CashNav, an app that tracks payments from an account and groups them into a range of categories. And to spread awareness, DDB has embraced the art of word blending.

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

Since the 2011 earthquake, Christchurch agency Plato Creative has moved six times into temporary spaces, doing its best to allow its creatives to thrive. But now, it’s opening the doors to its new home and the largest creative space in the South Island. We talk to co-owner John Plato about the move and what it means for the agency moving forward.

Kiwibank and DOC have teamed up to get more conservation dogs on the ground to catch unwanted pests and make New Zealand predator-free.

The long hours and late nights experienced during a project provide a great opportunity for clients and agencies to get to know each other well, possibly too well, and one agency is embracing those weird moments in a book.

Pandora and Uber are transforming the in-car listening experience for riders, allowing them to personalise the journey with their favourite tunes following the streaming service’s integration into the rider app.

Hats off to New World, Noel Leeming, Slingshot and Westpac.

Although the Clios have come to be inextricably linked to the hot mess that was the 1991 edition, the awards show continues to attract some of the best creative work from around the world—and this year was no different. Kiwi agencies were again among the winners, with Colenso BBDO picking up a gold for DB Brewtroleum and Y&R winning a pair of silvers for Burger King’s McWhopper. We look at some of the other campaigns these Kiwi efforts are sharing the limelight with.

Heineken has launched a new TVC for the UEFA Champions League dubbed ‘Prep Talk’, shot by award-winning director Guy Ritchie.

As Lightbox chief executive Kym Niblock prepares to bid farewell to the SVOD industry, we sit down with her for a long chat about her stint at the centre of one of the fastest changing industries in New Zealand.

New World has released its latest collectible miniatures, but this time it’s not tiny plastic Nutri-Grain packets, cooking oil or Super Wine biscuits, it’s taken a more sustainable turn and has launched Little Garden instead, enabling kids to collect miniature seedling kits. We chat to GoodSense managing director Kath Dewar about New World’s decision to move away from plastic collectibles.

Spark has enlisted an orderly line of robots to promote the new iPhone 7, and it’s become the new best friend of Idealog editor Henry Oliver.