After Vodafone made the decision to move its global media business to MEC earlier this year, it was expected that Vodafone New Zealand would eventually follow suit and, as reported last week in a story about the arrival of GroupM in this market, it was widely known that the handover had already begun. For some strange reason, Vodafone was at pains to point out that nothing had been signed, but it sent through official confirmation today that it is indeed swapping SparkPHD for MEC as its media buying and planning agency in this market.

“What would you recommend that looks good on Instagram? I’m not gonna eat it, it’s just for my food blog.”

Everybody knows somebody who has become obsessed with a ridiculous health regime. Aussie burger chain Grill’d has released two new ads that take the mickey out of those people, who often just can’t resist sharing their fantastic new diet and exercise discoveries.

Clemenger BBDO has done it again for NZTA, this time with a new TVC that shows how everyone has a part to play in stopping a drunk driver. Released this morning on NZTA’s Facebook page, the ‘Local Legends’ ad plays close to home for anyone who might feel anxious trying to convince someone they don’t have much influence over not to drink and drive.

President of the Harvard Business School Association of New Zealand Marc Potter explains why we need more people such as Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor to exploit brand New Zealand and why this would be good for Kiwi business.

In September, Microsoft Surface and FCB hooked up with street artist duo BMD to showcase the utility of the tablet in allowing artists to collaborate and bring ideas to life. Since StopPress ran a previous story on the campaign, the pair of artists have actively been engaging with fans via the Surface Facebook page and collecting ideas with the aim of bringing one to life on a wall in the viaduct at 100 Halsey Street. More than 500 ideas were shared with the artists over the course of the campaign, and the duo eventually settled on an entry from a Facebooker Rob Thorne.

Totino’s Pizza recently released what is undoubtedly one of the strangest ads ever after it let Tim and Eric loose on their brand. And it’s continued the madvertising trend by proving Buzzfeed wrong and using some supposedly unusable stock images.

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

With a new app called Wakie you could be getting one every single morning. If you so desire.

Barbara Miller, a spokeswoman for the US National Candle Association, told The New York Times last year that 35 percent of the $2 billion of annual candle sales happen in last three months of the year. And, in an effort to get more of its candles in stockings this year, Ecoya has released a beautiful festive film that celebrates the joy of giving and getting.

It’s not often, especially not in the digital age, for a trailer to accompany the publication of book. However, for the release of ‘Surviving Middle School,’ a tongue-in-cheek guide for young girls, writer David McGrail has gone all out by commissioning the production of a three-minute clip, which gives a hyperbolic glimpse at what happens when school girls make the wrong choices.

Hyundai launches a customer platform that acts as a rewards system, entertainment centre, and Hyundai community hub all in one.

After Apple announced the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Samsung came out firing (once again) with a comparative print ad that pointed out the next best thing was already here in the form of the Note 4. And its approach to promoting the Galaxy Tab S is similarly comparative.

The Rumpus Room, the UK-based sister company of The Sweet Shop, recently completed a mobile activation to commemorate Lewis Hamilton’s victory for this season’s Formula One World Championship. The activation was set up to lead into the final race in Abu Dhabi , and featured footage sourced from the driver’s seven million fans, who often share their support via social media. The Rumpus Room invited fans to share their experiences via a mobile web app, and this content was then cut and edited into a video dubbed #TeamLHmovie, which was released only hours after the race.

The programmatic bus rolls on, with Magna Global predicting a 31 percent annualised growth rate through to 2017. And with Google’s latest consumer barometer showing Kiwis use an average of 2.7 devices each, a new Kiwi agency called Made Media—a collaboration between sales manager and partner Michael Buhagiar and Latch Digital—believes it’s found a gap in the market for a locally owned and operated demand side platform that brings those two elements together.

With a total of 1.2 million subscribers across the world, the Kiwi vlogger Jamie Curry (of Jamie’s World) is one of only two New Zealanders to meet the YouTube star threshold of having more than a million subscribers. And her resonance with 13- to 24-year-olds recently caught the attention of Coca-Cola Australia, leading the drinks company to collaborate with the teen on the ‘Colour your summer’ campaign.

A new B2B app allows businesses to sports-pick outside the immediate workplace, with a view to “cut through the clutter” and inspire commitment from customers who are inundated with deals.