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.

Blue Cross, an organisation which specialises in rehoming and veterinary help for pets as well as education on how to care for them, has released a new spot, featuring a neglected dog who sings a heart-warming version of ‘I will survive’.

Funky dancers, inflatable orcas, Viking lightning swords and lucky jerseys are thrown into the mix as Kiwibank, Genesis Energy, Cure Kids and ASB get creative this week.

The Alternative Commentary Collective aka the ACC who made a name for themselves after commentating on the ICC Cricket World Cup earlier this year have struck back, this time to report on the Rugby World Cup 2015 and have teamed up with Jockey as part of its ‘Lucky Jockeys’ campaign to find an eighth member of the collective to join the current crew in London.

Brushing aside strong competition from the Australian metropolitan publications, the New Zealand Herald has been judged the Newspaper of the Year at the annual Pacific Area Newspapers Publishers’ Association (Panpa) awards. PLUS: Jared Savage wins Hegarty Award and Fairfax also picks up a few gongs.

Most people have that private dance that they turn on when no one is looking. It’s generally typified by an awkward shuffle that stutters its way across the floor to the beat of whatever sound might be playing in the background. Music is optional, and in most cases the elaborate dance moves are brought to a neck-breaking halt if any spectators—beyond the most trusted—suddenly appear on the scene. However, over the last year, Kiwibank has through its ‘Indepen-dance’ campaign given these private dance moves the exposure they deserve. And for the latest iteration of the campaign, the bank has turned to its employees for content.

Anchor recently released a black milk bottle to differentiate itself in the aisle (and show its support for the All Blacks, because nothing else matters and because it got back together with the national team after an 80-ish year delay). We cast our eye to the darkest corners of the internet to find some other dairy-based promotions attempting to stand out. They say dairy gives you weird dreams, so perhaps these marketers overdosed on the products they were attempting to sell.

As the All Blacks depart to defend the Webb Ellis cup in the UK, the nation is gearing up for a few weeks of early morning code watching. It’s obviously a pretty big deal for a rugby-loving nation and, as we saw during the Cricket World Cup, the clicks are likely to follow. But the Herald might be taking it a bit far with the branding of its rugby hub, which is sponsored by—who else?—Steinlager. Syrian refugee crisis? Pfffffff.

As has increasingly become clear, content marketing is an effective, progressive and less intrusive way of reaching an audience. The modern audience has less time for shouty or obvious tactics. We’ve grown smarter, wiser and more distracted with a myriad of content options to consume, particularly the millennial audience, which is spending less and less time in front of the television. While perhaps a few years ago it would have been hard to see it coming, banks have gotten very good at employing content marketing tactics, particularly when targeting a younger audience. We thought we’d take a look at a few examples from the main players.

Kiwibank’s general manager of brand and communications Nicky Ashton is one of the many big brains speaking at the NZ Marketing Summit on Thursday September 17 at Skycity. Ahead of the event, which is split into four streams—brand, digital, data and live—we asked her a few questions.

Streaming content is a hot topic at the moment. Companies like Netflix, Lightbox and Neon are all fighting for share, the telcos are signing up content deals left, right and centre, YouTube is still growing rapidly (and Facebook isn’t far behind with its auto-play option), and traditional free-to-air, ad-funded broadcasters are upping their game to try and compete. But the latest arrival in this already crowded market has come from an unlikely source: Family First.

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

Over the past few years, social media has become an enormous part of the lives of many. Studies show we spend hours online per day, and much of this time is spent perusing Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like. And apart from stalking old school friends who have become more successful than you, or (for some) discovering what Kim K’s latest move is, these have also become platforms for people to openly share their views, exercise their right to free speech, and learn what others think about relevant and important issues. This activity on social media has led to many news publishers embedding tweets in their online stories, or further, basing an entire story around a strong public reaction to a tweet. So, we decided to ask ‘why?’

SelfieJobs, a Stockholm-based startup, is shaking up the recruitment industry with an app that approaches recruitment and job hunting in much the same way that millennials are going about dating. The app requires users to pitch a 22-second pitch video and then swipe through available jobs in their region.

In an effort to draw attention to continued murder of humanitarian aid workers, Action Against Hunger has released a moving campaign that features a young boy called Barrack Obama calling on world leaders to provide support to the aid workers who are trying their best to feed those caught up in the misery of war.