Southern Cross, Beats, ASB and Meridian Energy win the applause this week.

Last Thursday Doritos released ‘Rainbow’ Doritos in support of LGBT teens, which were available to every person who donated to Dan Savage’s ‘It Gets Better Project’. The cheesy rainbow snacks sold out in just two days.

Brands are increasingly looking to produce online content that viewers find entertaining enough to share. And as part of its sponsorship deal with the Winter Games, Audi set out to do something a little different by inviting a collection of 20 lucky Kiwis to attend a pop-up bistro event high up in the Pisa Range hosted by celebrity chef Simon Gault.

Southern Cross Health Society has gone the emotional route with its new campaign via Barnes, Catmur & Friends consisting of an ad narrated by an old man giving advice to his younger self along to a series of clips of his most significant life experiences and the lessons he’s learned.

Beats by Dre has a mixed reputation among sound bogans for the audio quality of its products, but it is renowned for the quality of its advertising and the brand has managed to worm its way into popular culture by getting endorsements—paid and otherwise—from stars like Lebron James, Richard Sherman, Serena Williams, Neymar Jr, Nick Kyrgios, Kobe Bryant and Lady Gaga. Now it’s moved onto rugby, with All Black captain Richie McCaw putting in the acting performance of his life to make what is one of the best rugby-related ads of the past few rugby-filled months.

With the Rugby World Cup about to start tomorrow morning, there are bound to be a few tired All Black fans over the next six weeks. There’s already a campaign from NZME called Push Back for Black that asks employers to go easy on rugby-loving employees. But if there’s no leeway from the boss, then ASB is ensuring Kiwis get some extra stamina through stimulants.

Meridian Energy has released a new campaign via Barnes, Catmur and Friends with its poster boy Jeremy Wells (clothed this time) about its use of renewable energy and how we can ‘Save the world right from our sofas’. Wells also stars alongside Freddy the goat, who makes a brief albeit important appearance.

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

As Dr Evil said: “I’m with it, I’m hip, takka takka takka takka … ” And it seems the NZ Police have taken a leaf out that book and tried to get down with the kids to warn them to stay safe during the Rugby World Cup.

Nobody expects a fast fashion chain to be both inclusive of all walks of life and sustainable in its ideals, but H&M has surprised everyone with its ‘Close the Loop’ ad. People of almost every religion, size and gender are featured, looking sleek and stylish in the company’s gears.

Everyone loves a quiz. That’s why TVNZ is bringing back Mastermind next year. And the Marketing Association is putting the industry’s direct knowledge to the test to draw attention to the fact that it’s time to get your entries in for the NZDM Awards.

There’s been plenty of talk about the haka in recent days, as there always is when the All Blacks head to Europe. And there’s been plenty of brand activity involving virtual reality recently too, with everyone from Kellogg’s to Contiki getting in on the action. Now AIG, the major jersey-hogging sponsors of the All Blacks, have combined both of those things for the Haka 360˚ Experience.

After an intensive judging process that saw entries scrutinised by 200 preliminary judges and 70 category judges, CAANZ has announced a shortlist of 99 finalists for the 2015 New Effie Awards. Leading the pack this year is Colenso BBDO with 24 nominations across the 15 categories in the award ceremony this year. This is followed by FCB with 17, Saatchi & Saatchi with ten, DDB with eight, JWT and Barnes Catmur & Friends with five apiece, and .99/JustOne with four.

Over the past few years YouTube celebrities and content creators have become a great platform for advertisers to market through. The target market already actively seeks out the material, so all they need to do is weave a bit of marketing magic into the content and see themselves put in front of a million pairs of eyes. Here’s New Zealand’s top 10 subscribed-to accounts making waves over the interwebs.

We’ve seen a few clever queue hacking campaign ideas in recent years, from Samsung’s Smartphone Line to Spark’s Emoji Queue. And Spark’s employed 3D printing technology for what it’s calling the world’s smallest queue for the world’s biggest phone launch.

While e-commerce only contributes a small percentage of sales to the overall revenue of the retail industry, Ogilvy managing director Paul Manning argues the influence of digital can’t be emphasised enough. With shoppable content, personalisation and real-time customer service becoming increasingly common, digital touchpoints often serve as important links to the final purchase—and this is only set to become more prominent as the industry evolves.

Kenyan javelin thrower Julius Yego recently won a gold medal at the IAAF World Athletics Championships event with a mammoth throw of 92.72m. Having already won gold medals at the Commonwealth Games, the All Africa Games and African Championships, this recent victory confirmed Yego’s talent in a full field of international talent.

And as was the case at last year’s Brandcast event, Google again spared no expense as it put on an elaborate affair aimed at selling YouTube and the content creators to those who hold the purse strings in the industry.

While not rational by any stretch of the imagination, superstition is an integral part of sporting culture. And as the World Cup approaches, fans across the country will dust off their lucky trinkets and get them ready for the biggest tournament in the rugby calendar. However, these magical items aren’t only pulled out during big sporting events. When we need luck, they’re also dragged from the dark recesses of our wardrobes and put to good use. And in quirky new spot, ASB has through Saatchi & Saatchi poked fun at the tradition of rugby fans to wear their lucky jerseys during important events.

Living in the relative safety of a western democracy means that we are often disconnected from the struggles of those living in war-torn regions. Because we don’t see or experience the suffering on a daily basis, we don’t often feel the need to act against it. So, in an effort to bring the plight of Syrian refugees home to Australians, Amnesty International has released a new mobile-based campaign that illustrates what little choice those in these situations often have.