Just when you thought there was no such thing as an ad hung off the homoerotic relationship between a giant ear and a single overgrown German headphone, along comes Sennheiser.

Our weekly collection of good things, funny things, weird things and other things from inside the intertubes.

Oreo’s new ad looks at a novel new way of using the iconic cookie: to make sweet, sweet music.

Rapper, producer and sound-based entrepreneur Andre ‘Dr Dre’ Young has just been named by Forbes as the 2014 Hip-Hop Cash King. And it’s the sale of Beats Electronic to Apple that put him in the top spot. PLUS: Beats by Dre’s celebrity-heavy advertising.

While Google messes about with a self-driving car, BMW is bringing the digital world to the driver in its newly released Connected Drive system. Already available in many parts of the globe, the onboard internet and SOS service comes standard with all new beemers in New Zealand, with optional subscriber services such as a 24/7 concierge phone service and a series of apps for integrating the car with your phone and home computer. But, um, why? Many of the features, such as GPS navigation, phone, internet and digital radio are available on all smart phones. So are AA, tow trucks and ambulances. So why not just bluetooth your brick and flick on the hands free?

Volvo Trucks and its agency Forsman & Bodenfors had the world eating out of their hands last year after Epic Splits and a few other entertaining live tests showed how easy the trucks were to drive—and how B2B didn’t necessarily have to mean boring to boring. And, to show off its new i-Shift dual clutch technology, it’s continued that trend with a complicated stunt on the Italian Riviera featuring a rather confused-looking valet who gets a big shock during his first night on the job.

Parks and Recreation’s Rob Lowe has used a new pair of BBDO-created TVCs for DirecTV to illustrate that his acting skills extend beyond the remit of portraying an emotionally disconnected health fanatic. In fact, he is more than capable of playing two very different versions of himself in the same ad.

Buying of ad inventory has traditionally been an esoteric art typified by Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and a continuous stream of back and forth communications. This approach created various touch points that collectively sapped the resources of media companies and slowed down the entire process. However, the emergence of programmatic buying has over the last few years expedited the process by centralising communications through innovative software solutions. One of the companies that has successfully provided such services across the Australasian market over the last few years is Adslot, but the company’s business director Stacey Perillo believes that programmatic buying in the digital space has not been quite as effective as it could’ve been. So, in an effort to streamline the process, the company has made some key changes to its offering.

Plenty of people with kids—and many without—greatly enjoyed the brutal honesty of Adam Mansbach’s best-selling children’s book Go The Fuck to Sleep (and Samuel L Jackson’s audio book rendition). Now he’s written a follow up based another major parental frustration called You have to Fucking Eat.

Back in 1994, a “punk zine” called Vice was launched in Montreal. 20 years later it has offices in over 30 countries and it has expanded into a global youth-focused media company that runs a range of magazines and websites, a music label, a film-making arm, a TV show, a news outfit and an ad agency. And, because it has been able to attract the tough to reach millennial market, brands are increasingly looking for some of its magic dust. We chat with Melbourne-based director Myki Slonim about Vice Media’s strategy, how brands can get past young people’s sophisticated bullshit detectors and how the company is faring in this part of the world.

Over the last couple of days, some dedicated Apple fans have discovered a little-known feature of the new iPhone 6 Plus and they are not too happy about it.

In a new TVC, which appears to borrow from the long run scene in Forest Gump, a dishevelled and impressively bearded James Rolleston is depicted walking with a smartphone in hand while watching online video clips, before an on-screen notification informs him that he has reached the end of the internet. As with several of Vodafone’s recent campaigns, this ad again draws attention to the fact that Vodafone’s major point of difference lies in the extent and reach of its 4G network. But how much longer will Vodafone be able to rely on 4G as a point of difference?

The tendency of diners to take snapshots of their meals has become almost ritualistic in its frequency. It has become the pre-meal prayer of the digital age, an unwritten rule that no food will be touched until the formality of prerequisite photography has been completed. And although this does little more than annoy those who go to restaurants for food rather than photo shoots, one Auckland restaurant is experimenting with the concept in an effort to drive online engagement. As part of its birthday celebration, Miss Clawdy is offering (ends after Sep 28), every diner a free cupcake when they show proof of an Instagram post of its birthday cupcake (check out our other Miss Clawdy article).

“The average human goes from 0 to 60 in less than two billion seconds,” says the narrator in the new BMW spot via Ogilvy’s Gurgaon branch in India. And during the 44 seconds of the ad, this premise is visually represented through a series of photographs and short video clips showing the progression of a person moving from youth to old age in only a few seconds, and tying in perfectly to the ‘Don’t postpone joy’ positioning of the new campaign.

Ever felt the urge to go for a casual skydive, snowboard, mountain bike, bungee and jet boat ride all in under an hour? Did you know that this was even possible? Well, a new video from Tourism New Zealand confirms it most definitely is.

Following on from ANZ’s move into publishing with BlueNotes, BNZ, RaboDirect and Westpac have now made their own forays into the content marketing landscape. But the approach that each bank has taken differs not only in terms of the content being covered but also in terms of who produces the material for publishing. We take a look at what each bank is doing in this space.

News is increasingly heading online, but paper still has its place and, increasingly, that place is the weekend. And The Guardian and Observer have released a great new ad via BBH that sums up what the weekend is all about—and the paper’s role in it.

Lady Gaga may not have performed in Rangiora (yet). But she is using some visual marketing software from a company that’s based there. PLUS: how the company is expanding into the US market.