Over the last few months, Jay Alvarrez has become something of a YouTube and Instagram sensation through a series of videos and images that show him skydiving, surfing, flying helicopters, visiting tropical islands and just living what appears to be the ideal life. And in case there was any doubt that the ridiculously good-looking Alvarrez and his annoyingly gorgeous girlfriend had way better lives than pretty much every other person in the world, Hallenstein Brothers has now confirmed it by commissioning the pair to appear in its new brand spot.

At sporadic intervals between the 1980s to the early 2000s, the Care Bears, a multi-coloured collection of pint-sized heroes, appeared on television entertaining kids with their various adventures against the forces of evil. Powered by a range of super powers indicated by the emblems emblazoned across their chests, the Care Bears dedicated their days to increasing the levels of care in the world. And, now, three years after the Care Bears last made a TV appearance, tissue brand Earthcare has introduced its own variation of a bear that can’t help but care, perhaps a little too much. But rather than following the cute footsteps of the Care Bears, Earthcare has opted for a slightly more intimidating iteration of a do-gooder bear.

In a television age dominated by reality cooking shows like Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules, no doubt many of us feel we need to step up our game in the kitchen, and make sure each dish has at least one food source which is impossible to pronounce or perhaps includes kale from a remote region of New Zealand which has grown to the sound of children’s laughter and been watered only with water collected from a luscious mountain stream, or some chia seeds, or maybe some salted caramel topped with cream churned by the feet of baby ducks. But considering most of us don’t have the time or money to regularly produce artisan cuisines, sometimes we just want to whip up something quick, something we know improves the taste of our meal and something that won’t make us recoil from the state of our bank balances, like some ready-made gravy paste by Maggi.

Longtime Daily Show host Jon Stewart bowed out today after 16 years. And the tributes flowed. Here are a few of the best.

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

The undeniably adorable Piggy Sue has returned to screens once again in a continuation of Vodafone’s brand campaign developed by FCB, this time she’s been recruited as a flanker.

The persuasive arts are often jokingly referred to as the colouring-in department. But the appeal is obviously not limited to marketers and agency folk, because adult colouring books are going gangbusters in New Zealand and around the world.

Massey University graduate Jason Khoo has taken out first place in the New Zealand leg of the 15th James Dyson Awards with his tree house platform called Tree Mount, designed to encourage Kiwi families to spend more time together and get back to nature.

Belting out La Bamba is practically a rite of passage in this country. But what does it all mean? Thankfully Google is here to help non Spanish speakers.

Peugeot’s latest TV ad may seem run of the mill. That is until they promise ‘an online experience you’ll never forget’. Given advertisers are known for their hyperbolic tendencies, StopPress didn’t have high hopes of Peugeot living up to its claim. However, upon arrival at Pure 308 website, we were pleasantly surprised by an eye-catching online execution. PLUS: a look at few other slick online efforts.

Humans are becoming increasingly attached to their smartphones and these days they’re often seen as lifelines—sometimes quite literally. Here’s how technology is trying to keep us safe.

Yahoo’s latest messenger app replaces audio with text messaging for a Skype-meets-TXT-with-the-sound-off platform that might just revolutionise the way we use our phones.

We’re fans of brands that get creative in an effort to hijack the attention generated by major events they don’t actually sponsor, whether it’s the African airline that found a way to get Sepp Blatter to endorse it, Nike’s focus on other Londons during the Olympics or Calendar Girls flying a plane above Eden Park advertising its services as Martin Guptill smashed a six after a Mitchell Johnson no-ball in the Cricket World Cup. Steinlager is winning that battle at the moment with its ‘We Believe’ campaign managing to reference the upcoming Large Sporting Event without actually mentioning it. And Samsung is also embracing euphemisms for one of its promotions.

For those Back to the Future fans who have always wanted to have a hoon on a hoverboard, your day could be soon. Lexus has just launched one (for real!).

We all have that one thing that we are especially good at, or that one meal that we make so well we re-make it again and again instead of learning something new, and that’s what F. Whitlock & Sons has tapped into with its new campaign targeting men via Us&Co for its Killer Sauce, which includes an online ad with an interactive ending.