From relatively small-scale beginnings in Whangarei in 1979, Michael Hill has over the last 36 years grown into an international enterprise that today has 280 stores globally employing about 2400 staff in a variety of roles. And as a culmination of this ongoing growth, the company is set to feature alongside the world’s major brands in what is arguably advertising’s biggest showcase, the Super Bowl.

Milk consumption is declining in a number of developed markets, with the Washington Post stating that the average American drinks 37 percent less milk today than they did in 1970. Similar trends are evident in New Zealand, with the Herald estimating that it has decreased from 139 litres a head a year in 1974 to about 81 litres a head last year. There are a number of reasons for that, including rising prices, a proliferation of other beverage options and one recent study that appeared to turn the received wisdom of milk’s health benefits on its head. But, following on from Fonterra’s Milk in Schools Initiative, Anchor and Colenso BBDO are continuing their mission to get cow juice into the gullets of more New Zealanders by convincing parents that milk helps grow healthy kids.

Anchor’s charming tale and Bigpipe’s random instances of coffee chaos get the nod of approval this week.

Triumphant early 2015 showings from Tip Top, Midas and The Bachelor.

A new range of print ads from IAG owned State Insurance are illustrating ordinary accidents with a series of surprising print ads.

The finalists of the NZ Direct Marketing Awards have been announced and perennial award-hoggers Colenso BBDO/Proximity are in the lead with 18 nods, followed by justONE/.99 with 16, FCB with ten, and Chemistry Interaction with eight.

In both surfing and skateboarding culture, a harmonic groan often accompanies a wipeout. Whether it’s a group of pros waiting in the channel at Teahupo’o or a few mates just having a bowl session at the local skate park, this groan serves as a salute to the fallen. And the more severe the wipeout, the more animated and pronounced the reaction from the specators on the sideline.

Colenso BBDO and Assembly have borrowed a few tips from The Incredible Hulk in a new Just Juice campaign that shows a series characters drinking juice and then transforming into different, more colourful versions of themselves. But rather than turning into a massive green monsters with temper problems, the black-and-white, 2D characters simply change into happier, colorful 3D versions of themselves.

According to research conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry in London, one spoonful of ice cream could stimulate an immediate and positive effect on the brain’s orbitofrontal cortex. What this means is that ice cream makes eaters feel better and this is reflected in how they treat others and how productive they are. Ever the skeptics, Tip Top’s creative agency Colenso BBDO decided to put this theory to the test by conducting some uncontrolled and scientifically questionable experiments on unsuspecting Kiwis.

While the press and pretty much anyone with a Twitter account seemed to jump on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch like it was going out of fashion (it’s not), Samsung launched the Galaxy Note 4 this week with a notable lack of column inches in the press.

In an effort to give a more tangible representation of the statistical fact that Kiwis who hold mortgages pay $6 million in interest every four hours, BNZ has launched a new campaign via Colenso BBDO in which that amount of money will be shredded and put on display in Auckland’s Aotea Square from 29 September to 1 October. This outdoor activation is being supported across various channels, with a TVC, a Facebook campaign and YouTube clips that all use the shredded money as a provocative reminder of the amount of money that Kiwis burn through their mortgage repayments every day.

Samsung has been giving Apple uppercuts for a few years now with its The Next Best Thing is Already here campaign, and it has taken the attacks up a notch after the launch of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with a series of ads calling bollocks on the ‘innovation’ of its main mobile competitor (it doesn’t seem to have made too much difference, as Apple’s sales were still off the charts, although glitches with the operating system and bendy phones may have hindered that). And now the local arm of the Korean electronics behemoth is getting in on the act, running a print ad in some of the weekend papers showing a list of features from the soon-to-be-released Galaxy Note 4 that Apple should be taking note of for its next release.