Never has the monotonous task of washing your hands been so emotional.

To connect with the growing Chinese community in New Zealand, some major brands are delving into Chinese social media by starting accounts on Weibo or WeChat, which combined have 800 million active accounts. The opportunity that exists in this cannot be overstated. However, in the same way that simply starting a Facebook business page offers no guarantee of success, placing your brand onto a social Chinese social media channel isn’t necessarily going to result in instant stream of new revenue. So to better understand the role WeChat and Weibo play in Chinese social media, StopPress chatted to James Shi of Bananaworks, a cross-cultural communications agency specialising in helping kiwi companies to engage with the Chinese community in New Zealand and abroad.

In what appears to have become a bit of an industry trend as of late, as agencies have increasingly been sucked into one another, Bcg2 has announced it has acquired Shirtcliffe and Co, with the move going live on 1 March.

Having ‘the talk’ with their children is a much stressed over point in a parents life, but how should agencies approach the issue? British police and Project Consent show there’s two very different ways to do it.

Ad world has been disrupted by some friendly fast-food fire between McDonald’s and Burger King.

There’s been another big step towards virtual realty as Getty Images and 360Cities partner to make 360-degree photographs of the moon, and beautiful locations on earth accessible to customers while McDonald’s happy meals gets a VR makeover in Sweden.

The advertising landscape is changing constantly as marketers need to come up with new ways to attract an audience that will no longer respond to your classic 30-second TVC and a billboard. The AdRoll 2015 ANZ State of the Industry Report is out and reveals what marketers think of their ever-evolving profession as well as what their views are on the future of digital advertising.

To ensure beer and cider lovers find the perfect bevvy to suit their tastes, Monteith’s is offering a ‘beer back guarantee’ for this month only, where unsatisfied customers can trade in their brew for one that pleases the taste buds. And to promote the initiative, it’s released an ad featuring a very unsatisfied-satisfied customer via Colenso BBDO.

Google driverless cars have suffered the first significant blow, with one of its fleet making headlines for a crashing into a bus.

Sovereign Insurance is encouraging young people to ‘take action’ through the launch of the next chapter of its ‘Life. Take charge’ brand campaign via J. Walter Thompson in an effort to tap into the millennial market. Though, the action taken in its latest ad is somewhat questionable.

As counterfeiters step up their game around the world, the need to verify products and their accreditation logos is increasing. So, in a bid to counteract the counterfeiters, and to promote New Zealand and its premium products to the world in a unique way, FernMark has incorporated augmented reality into its logo.

Shortly after his appointment as the new president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino* proudly announced that the third annual CAANZ Agency Football Tournament would be held at the end of April.

During last night’s Academy Awards broadcast, Google pulled at the heartstrings with a heartfelt spot for its Android product. And what’s interesting about this is that the big G isn’t the only major tech company tapping into TV to get its messages to the people.

As the internet pulls audiences in all sorts of directions, and brands risk losing touch of their market, Motion Sickness Studio and Latch Digital have responded by creating The Social Club, a platform which aims to create meaningful connections between brands and influencers – and it’s not as exclusive as you think.

The Dentsu Aegis Network today announced that it had acquired a majority share in Barnes, Catmur and Friends (BC&F), an agency which has over the last two decades become one of the most prominent indies in the industry. PLUS: BC&F wins a bigger piece of the Jetstar business.