The Christmas shopping season saw more Kiwis go online for purchases, but the rate of online spending growth by New Zealanders on Christmas Day was higher for retailers whose sites are based offshore than for locals, according to BNZ and Marketview’s latest provisional figures.

It was all hands on deck at Vend’s recently-opened Auckland office as it made its new introductory video. The point of sale company was at pains to avoid startup video cliches like happy hipsters and clever cartoons.

Rather than adopting the shock-inspired approach, DraftFCB has instead chosen to use a PR stunt to show off the utility of the new Sony waterproof MP3 player. The Auckland-based agency dropped the product into a bottle of water and then placed it in vending machines located in areas where the target market would be likely to pass them.

Westpac has had nearly 30,000 YouTube views of a promotional clip for its UK Global App challenge, which calls on British geeks to test their adventurous mettle downunder.

In a new series, we talk to Kiwi keyboard tappers that have managed to shift from the personal realm of blogging to create online media brands that are widely read (and in some cases profitable). In the first segment, we chat to Jamie Frater, the founder of Listverse.

A look back at the advertising published in the 2 January 1900 edition of the Otago Daily Times provides a glimpse at the cost of living, the advertising standards and the creative motivations that pervaded the early 20th century.

The look and functionality of Kim Dotcom’s long awaited music service Baboom has been revealed and so far it’s a showcase of the internet entrepreneur and his album Good Times.

Late last year, StopPress covered the efforts of a team of Kiwi creatives who entered the Doritos “Crash the Superbowl’ competition, which invited ad makers the world over to vie for a chance to have their original ad appear during the Superbowl. Although the Kiwis didn’t make the final cut, the five shortlisted entries are definitely worth a watch.

Sometimes poignant, sometimes inspirational, the 2013 awards compilation from Getty Images offers a series of snapshots that captures the highs and lows of the human experience in a way that is only possible through the laconic medium of photography. Portraits of animal cruelty, political snapshots, sporting action pics, war photography and eerie juxtapositions appear alongside the more commonly seen photographs of natural wonders, artistic poses and press shots.

There was plenty of excitement about the Share a Coke campaign, which offered punters a personalised can and tapped into the powerful narcissistic tendencies of the modern age. And Pernod Ricard brand Jacob’s Creek is offering something of a grown-up equivalent, with a pop-up winemaking experience in Auckland where customers can taste and combine up to four of the label’s most popular varieties to make their own red or white blend.

In order to dispel a few myths, McDonald’s New Zealand has recently embraced honesty—and followed in the footsteps of Canada—by inviting people to ask them some tough questions. And The Onion has obviously been inspired by that decision, as evidenced by a deeply philosophical fake ad it generously created for the brand that features “grainy, rapidly shifting images of raw ground beef, masticated hamburger, livestock, a fornicating couple and static”.

Aged 76, Ian Douglas Wells died on January 4 and more than 400 attended his funeral at Old St Paul’s Cathedral in Wellington on January 9. Rick Neville takes a moment to reflect on the tireless effort Wells put into making Wellington a better place. (Image credit: Stuff.co.nz)

Given that the lines between the physical and digital worlds are becoming increasingly blurred, Ajax has decided to transpose its real-world cleaning methods into the internet with a new campaign that promises to help you clean up your social media life.

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

Whybin\TBWA has lent its creative talents to the cause of autism by producing a thought-provoking campaign for Minds for Minds. By giving a polarised snapshot of the contrasting perspectives of neurotypicals and those suffering from the disorder, Whybin hopes to encourage people to learn more about a problem that affects 45,000 families in New Zealand.

Every year, The Poynter Institute chronicles some of the errors made by the world’s media—and the ensuing corrections. Some are serious mistakes and have serious repercussions, like the Error of the Year given to 60 Minutes for its flawed Benghazi report. But most veer towards the comical. Either way, 2013’s lot are worth a read.

Back in 1964, sci-fi writer and biochemistry professor Isaac Asimov wrote an article for The New York Times predicting what life might be like in 2014. He got a few things right (although he was off in other areas, but humans do tend to remember the hits and overlook the many misses of futurists and psychics, something often known as the Jeane Dixon effect). And while there’s no doubt we live in a remarkable age, filled with an array of remarkable innovations designed to make our lives easier, we’re still obviously a long way from cracking the audio-to-text puzzle, as this transcript of an interview Vincent Heeringa recently gave to James Hurman that was converted by an automated online service attests.

Auckland company Assembly has created a new site for Sony’s ‘Be Moved’ brand campaign, which showcases a selection of products as the sum of their parts. Animations give the appearance of product assembly to seven products as visitors scroll through the site.

BNZ has announced an update to YouMoney that enables users to add accounts dedicated to specific items via a smartphone. And to spread awareness of the update, the blue bank has also launched a social media competition that asks Kiwis to share pictures of things they want via social media channels.

The Radio Network may boost other big names with internet-based shows as it adopts an on demand model. This week it launched the Polly and Grant Show on digital platform iHeartRadio.

With ever better visuals, characters and stories, and even the addition of things like scents, games are getting more and more real. In its new TVC by Crispin, Porter and Bogusky, Microsoft warns obsessed gamers just how real things are getting.

App development company Mogeo is reinforcing its reputation as the partner of choice for recreation and travel-focused applications — and has a new website and community around travel information.

What happens when engineers and artists come together? No, it’s not engineer/artist babies, it’s creative new products. Sony wants to show us that hardware is all about feelings.

Some of us like to ask friends and family before we buy something, others spend hours browsing websites and catalogues before they hit the shops. Now furniture retailer Ikea has an alternative with an app that uses the Chinese signs of the Zodiac to make recommendations.

Jucy is rewarding hopeless romantics for their creative and quirky displays of public affection on social media. It’s launched a competition that offers a week of glamping, the sophisticate’s version of what traditionalists used to know as camping.

Apple is harnessing the value of poetry in a new ad that aims to promote the iPad Air. The 90-second spot couples an excerpt spoken by Robin Williams in the Dead Poets Society with video footage that showcases the splendour of human endeavour. PLUS: see which other brands have dabbled in verse to flog products.