Have you ever just loved a piece of technology so much that you want to eat it? Probably not, but now you have the option, because Dole Japan has created an edible, wearable, smart banana. Yes, you heard correctly.

Samsung has released an app called ‘Look At Me’ which aims to help children with autism maintain better eye contact with their parents and peers.

With innovations in digital payment methodologies, our society is becoming increasingly cashless. And, according to a new Mastercard survey, Kiwis are slowly becoming okay with that, with many starting to warm up to the idea of digital wallets. The survey of shopping habits showed 75 percent of New Zealanders regularly shop online and two thirds are open to the idea of using a digital wallet.

Digital is no longer the siloed side project that’s only tapped into if there’s enough budget left over. It’s now an integral part of the comms strategy of most major brands, and its prominence is only becoming stronger as the online audience grows. To investigate the changing face of digital, StopPress has launched ‘Rise of the machines’, a new series in which we chat to few brains in the industry about how the channel is evolving. First up is DDB’s digital creative director Haydn Kerr.

As revealed by the recent stats released by TubeMogul, programmatic ad-buying is growing very quickly. But, as with anything new, the willingness of advertisers to adopt this approach has been slower than it could’ve been due to the fact that it seems quite complicated. So, in an effort to demystify programmatic ad buying and thereby encourage more media agencies and marketers to adopt it, Chango has released a series of videos that address some of the questions that have been raised by those in the industry.

According to Spark Home, Mobile and Business chief executive Chris Quin, fewer than 40 percent of small businesses have a website. And of those that do, only a quarter have a website that’s mobile responsive. So, in an effort to remedy this problem, Spark has released new promotion that offers business customers 24 months’ access to a Putti mobile-responsive website.

Despite approaching his 80th birthday, contemporary pop artist Billy Apple (something of a human brand) hasn’t lost the desire to create. And now, in collaboration with Saatchi’s design director Derek Lockwood, he has released a Billy Apple-branded cider.

Sometimes unfortunate or unforseen circumstances arise, which means that brands, for better or for worse, need to change their names. We thought we’d look at a few examples closer to home and further afield.

The travel industry has been one of the sectors most affected by the rise of e-commerce, with customers increasingly doing their booking of flights, hotels, trips, rental cars and transfers online. Expedia, the world’s largest online travel site in terms of booking volumes, is at the forefront of that shift and, as part of its ‘Out There Starts Here’ campaign, it’s created a number of great ads for the New Zealand and Australian market. Now it’s launched another one that sees the travel dreams of several characters become a reality.

The long-anticipated release of Sky’s subscription video on-demand (SVOD) service has been accompanied by a TVC that positions the offering as a form of escapism.

Now, if we had seen an ad, say 10 years ago that said “don’t selfie and drive” no one would have had a clue what that was about. But with new technology (and front-facing cameras) comes new dangers, and now Volkswagen has released a campaign which aims to stop drivers taking selfies while on the road.

As part of its new campaign released over the weekend via television and social media, former market leader in premium bread, Bürgen teamed up with Colenso BBDO and challenged current market leader Vogel’s to a taste-off, asking consumers to compare the two breads.

The Blackcaps’ decimation of England on Friday was a joy for many Kiwis to behold. Rebel Sport took the opportunity to congratulate the lads on the win with a print ad that ran on Saturday. And no words were needed to convey the sense of smugness.

American comedy Parks and Recreation, set in the fictional town of Pawnee, has now released a fictional burger joint commercial for a fictional burger joint – Paunch Burger, which we’re sure die hard fans will recognise.

In celebration of Hawaiian Airline’s upcoming second anniversary on the New Zealand market, a secretive pair of New Zealand street artists, who work under the name BMD, were commissioned to paint one of the airline’s ground service trucks in their distinctive style.

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

From Paul the octopus, to Paulo the octopus, to Futnik the pig, to Citta the elephant to Nicholas the llama to our own Richie McCow, supposedly psychic animals predicting the outcome of sports games is like catnip to media. And the Herald has introduced a new soothsaying creature to the list, with Cricket the cricket so far nailing three out of four games in the Cricket World Cup.