Bravo New Zealand is set for an injection of local talent after kicking off a nationwide search for its first local host.

Air New Zealand is trialling a new team member in the form of Sophie, a digital human created by Soul Machines to answer questions about New Zealand as a tourist destination and the airline’s products and services.

KFC has paid homage to the classic American road trip by releasing a cassette tape that provides GPS-like directions for travellers to follow Colonel Harland Sanders tracks.

Toilet paper might be one of the basic needs that consumers drop into their grocery carts, but this doesn’t mean the advertising related to it needs to be utilitarian.

Invercargill is well known for its wide ‘Parisian’ boulevards, infamous mayor, the world’s Southern-most McDonalds (we think), an abundance of oysters and cheese rolls, as well as the highest incidence of R-rolling in the country. However, the city hasn’t ever established a lasting brand identity, and locals decided the time had come to figure out what the town stood for. Designer Tim Christie talks us through the Invercargill brand’s new “stoic” look and feel.

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

Last week, the Green Party put the call out to wordsmiths to share their ideas of copy they’d like to see on the party’s digital billboard network and this week, the campaign team chose a winner.

Vodafone, Google and FCB are taking their Māori Language Week campaign beyond seven measly days by making a commitment to start updating the pronunciation of New Zealand place names on Google Maps. The process has already kicked off and we can expect to start hearing the updated pronunciation by the end of the year.

In an industry known for staff churn, there aren’t many operators quite as loyal as DDB account director Scott Wallace. But even the longest runs eventually come to an end. And as Wallace draws the curtains on his impressive stint at the agency, he chats to Damien Venuto about what’s changed in the industry, where he’s headed next and what to do when calamity strikes.

With a 44-year legacy in the insurance industry but a fast-moving digital environment surrounding it, Fidelity Life needed future-proofing. It called on Goodfolk and Phosphor to create a new website with its staff front and centre and as Goodfolk general manager Benn Winlove explains, the execution is a result of the client’s willingness to listen to its agencies and the agencies’ willingness to understand their client.

Ice cream, it’s a delicious frozen treat that’s typically presented in a joyful light, but that’s not the case for Halo Top. The ice cream brand has opted for an unsettling and creepy ad instead.

A full rundown on what to expect from the latest issue of NZ Marketing.

Following a competitive pitch that dates back to July, Goodman Fielder is understood to have appointed its new agency partners.

Despite the outrage surrounding the end of The Block NZ, it was the second strongest performing edition of the show across all six seasons.

Ecostore launched its first major brand campaign via DDB this week in a bid to send the message that consumers have the power to choose the kind of future they want their children to inherit. The campaign, running across various media channels, made the point that we don’t have to accept the pessimistic status quo and that we can learn from the optimism of the younger members of our society. We chat to Ecostore chief executive Pablo Kraus about the insight behind the campaign and what this means for the consumers Ecostore would like to get on its side.