Take a bow Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency, Fly Buys and NZI.

The music charts have traditionally been based on sales. But with consumers shifting consumption online, Recorded Music New Zealand has had to change its approach. We talk to Recorded Music chief executive Damian Vaughan about the complex task of fusing two very different data sets. PLUS: why data consolidation is an important issue for the ad industry.

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

It was a dark time for France. In 1997, the burger giant closed its 39 restaurants across the country after it failed to make a profit. Its return in 2012 was enough to bring a tear to the eye.

Opt-in mobile ad serving platform Postr has been pretty busy of late. After launching Skinny Collect late last year, it’s now launched a lock-screen video format, doubled its subscribers in the past six months and is expanding into South East Asia.

It’s that time of year again, the temperature drops and power bills rise as heaters and electric blankets come out in full force. It only seems fitting for electricity suppliers to launch a flurry of deals and campaigns to vie for the consumer dollar, a trend ad spend numbers support. But, while Trustpower’s Carolyn Schofield says winter is when customers are most likely to switch, Flick Electric Co.’s Jessica Venning-Bryan says winter electricity campaigns are symptomatic of a more old school power company model and consistency is key.

Fly Buys has returned to TV screens with a weird—some might say creepy—ad that shows a grown man being tickled by the future version of his current self.

Advertising consultant and equal rights activist Cindy Gallop has taken exception to James Hurman’s book, ‘The Case for Creativity’.

Mollie’s Fund, an organisation providing awareness for melanoma has launched a sobering ad, urging parents to put sunscreen on their kids.

In the build up to the Olympics, the flurry of brands showing their support with campaigns would have sports fans concerned the athletes are spending more time filming ads than they are training.

It’s been a big week for creativity with our local agencies winning awards and living it up in Cannes. But who needs the French Riviera when you have our equally prestigious weekly rundown right here at home? This week we salute Energy Online, V Energy, NZ Fire Service, The Co-operative Bank and Anchor.

Bowel Cancer New Zealand ran its high profile Art Chairs campaign through Whybin\TBWA to raise money and awareness for the disease in New Zealand, which has one of the highest incidences of the cancer in the developed world. We caught up with Whybin creative director Tim Huse to find out his thoughts on working with not-for-profits and whether advertising has a responsibility to help in whatever way it can.

Who needs chicken when KFC has beanies? A Twitter frenzy shows the branded headgear is just what New Zealand always wanted.