The Advertising Club of New York, the industry's leading professional organization representing the vision and mission of the global advertising, marketing, media and tech communities, has today announced that Pete Favat (left), chief creative officer of Deutsch North America has been named the 2017 chairman of the International ANDY Awards.

The exclusive jury list has also been announced including Australia's David Nobay, founder, Marcel Sydney and creative chairman, Publicis Australia, Sydney as well as expat Nick Law, global chief creative officer, R/GA, New York. Kiwi expat Malcolm Poynton, global chief creative officer, Cheil Worldwide, London has also been invited.

Says Gina Grillo, president and CEO, The AD Club of New York and International ANDY Awards on Favat's appointment as chairman: "Pete is a creative visionary and his energy is contagious. We're excited to have him lead the global jury. His love for advertising is evident as he's constantly pushing the boundaries of what's possible."

Wellington-based advertising agency Traverse has lured award-winning creative director Nigel Corbett to joined its rapidly-expanding team.

Corbett, who has spent the past four years as creative director for GSL Promotus in the capital, has won numerous international and local awards during his 16 years in the advertising industry.

Traverse chief executive Michael Gregg first met Corbett when he was executive creative director at Sugar Advertising half a decade ago, and whilst immediately impressed with the quality and creativity of his work, thought he was a funny guy.

Four lucky young creatives from New Zealand and one from Australia will be making their way to Las Vegas early in October thanks to Campaign Brief and the London International Awards.

Zoe Edwards (left) and Kate Lill (right), creative team at Y&R New Zealand ~ Campaign Brief's 2016 NZ Agency of the Year ~ will represent New Zealand at the 2016 London International Awards' Creative LIAisons program in Las Vegas, featuring some of the world's most respected creative directors as speakers.

Representing Australia is Tim Pashen, senior copywriter at The Monkeys, Sydney, Campaign Brief's 2016 Australian Agency of the Year.

2016 will be the fifth year in which LIA will host Creative LIAisons, a mentoring program fully funded by LIA that runs concurrently with the LIA Awards judging. Not only are the attendees being given the opportunity to listen to some of the industry's biggest names, but they're also invited to sit in with the Juries on statue discussions. This represents a unique opportunity for the creatives to experience the judging process at a relatively young age.

Colenso BBDO/Proximity New Zealand is the only agency from the Asia-Pacific region to win a Grand Clio, awarded for DB Export 'Brewtroleum' in the Out of Home category.

A total of 11 Grand Clios were announced and presented on stage during the event tonight at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Grand Clio Winners

Colenso BBDO/Proximity New Zealand
DB Breweries
"Brewtroleum"
Out of Home

Noel Leeming is offering a new VIP experience to its customers at this year's Noel Leeming Massive Sellout event on at the Auckland ASB showgrounds from September 29- October 2 called ShopBot.

FCB NZ has created the activation space and the tech setup that allows for two-way communication between the ShopBots and the customers

The Noel Leeming Massive Sellout is one of the consumer electronic retail industry's biggest sale events each year, consistently breaking Noel Leeming sales records over Boxing Day, which is traditionally considered the biggest sales opportunity of the year for retailers.

Tonight at The PlayStation Theater in New York City, the winners of the first ever D&AD Impact Awards were announced in front a crowd of business leaders, campaigners, philanthropists and awarded advertising and design practitioners from around the world.

Only 20 brands and companies were awarded a D&AD Impact White Pencil, the premier accolade for creative projects that have benefited society as well as a business' bottom line. Colenso BBDO Auckland has scored a White Pencil for its 'Brewtroleum' work for DB Breweries in the Environmental Sustainability category.

By Alex Wadelton, executive creative director/partner,
ZOO group, Melbourne

In a lot of big agencies, there seems to be almost a competition to see who can stay the latest at work, who can work the most weekends, and who can be at their desk working earliest every morning. Some of it has to do with the fact that everyone is overworked, but a lot of it has to do with trying to give the appearance of being a hard worker.

Does it make the quality of work better? I'd say no.

Mostly it makes people resentful of the fact that they are just at work, stuck inside on a sunny weekend while all their non-advertising friends are out and about.

So, let me tell you a story about why you should leave the office as often as professionally possible.

bcg2 have been appointed to the Tuatara Brewing Co. account after a brand strategy and design pitch. Kapiti based Tuatara, is one of New Zealand's most widely distributed independent craft breweries and are proud purveyors of some of Aotearoa's finest hopped refreshments. The agency is engaged in reviewing packaging for global markets, label design and naming of Tuatara's current range and new products.  

Says Melanie Percy, Tuatara marketing: "We really wanted to tell a story that reflects the new world interpretation of our beers. When we started brewing 16 years ago, our beer styles were extremely true-to-style, taking our cues from old world beer styles. But over time that has changed - we started moving away from those traditional styles, and into our own local interpretations and variations. We now brew a Pilsner with Kiwi hops, malts and ingredients - its uniquely Kiwi, so we want our packaging to reflect the personality of each beer style in our range.

Each week Bestads picks the very best advertising in the world, in every medium - which is reviewed by a top creative director or team to select their own personal favourites.

This week's guest judge is Leo Zhang, executive creative director, BBH China.

It's a big week for Bestadsontv. I definitely believe some pieces of this week will win the lions however I won't wager the same as Gary Lineker.

BEST TV
Winner: Audi "The comeback". Brilliantly powerful storytelling. The most ferocious monster experiences the ups and downs in his modern life and gains his glory back with Audi Piloted Driving. It tells me again that a great character settings naturally leads to a great story. READ MORE...

By Nick Cummins, creative partner, The Royals Sydney and Melbourne

Going into the judging at Spikes Asia this year, I was concerned that national styles would play a big part in the judges' decisions. I was lucky enough to be on Kentaro Kimora's Digital and mobile panel along with judges from China, Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and the Philippines. So we all had the potential to be drawn to very different styles of humour, insights and solutions. But that wasn't the case.

Although the work we judged - which started as a list of over 500 entries - was very diverse in tonality and levels of craft, the judges were very consistent in their views. Another thing that was very consistent over the four days of judging apart from the humidity, was how everyone entering these kinds of festivals ends up building the same style of case study.

There is a formula for a reason, I hear you cry. And yes, there are probably a few things that are important to keep doing but the problem is everything ends up looking like this.

The great thing about judging awards like this is you get to hang out with incredible people from our industry, from all different parts of the region and the world. We really are an amazingly smart, insightful, creative and funny bunch of individuals.

Ogilvy & Mather has reclaimed their top network position in the Campaign Brief Asia 2016 Creative Rankings. Over the past three Creative Rankings Dentsu have come out on top, however this year they have dropped down to #3 Network with both Ogilvy & Mather (#1) and BBDO (#2) above them. Hakuhodo is the #4 highest ranking network with McCann Worldgroup at #5.

Ogilvy & Mather's #1 Network Ranking is due to award-winning performances from 11 of their offices over the July 2015 to July 2016 award show calendar.

Leading the way for the network is Ogilvy & Mather Singapore who put in a great performance to move up from #16 agency overall in our previous Creative Rankings to #2 agency overall in Asia this year. The agency scored 1135 Ranking Points, with only Dentsu Tokyo sitting above them.

For the fourth time in a row Dentsu Inc Tokyo has topped the Campaign Brief Asia Creative Rankings.

The Japanese powerhouse did not score as many Ranking Points as in previous years, yet they still sit at the top of the rankings chart by a comfortable margin. In total Dentsu Tokyo amassed 2370 points from creative wins at the top global and regional award shows.

Only 15 Ranking points separate the next three agencies. Ogilvy & Mather Singapore had a great year at D&AD and One Show and moved up 14 places to #2 overall with 1135 points.

In #3 position, just 10 points behind Ogilvy & Mather Singapore, is McCann Worldgroup Mumbai. The agency is one of Asia's most consistent performers in our Campaign Brief Asia Creative Rankings having also placed #3 last Creative Rankings.

An important part of the Campaign Brief Asia Creative Rankings each year is our listing of the Asia's Top 20 award winning creative leaders - The people who have created the environment that creates the award winning work.

On top this year is Dentsu Tokyo ECD Yuya Furukawa, who was also #1 in our last Creative Rankings.

At #2 is Eugene Cheong Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific, Singapore. Cheong moves up from his previous #16 position.

Cigna Insurance's latest campaign via Y&R New Zealand, sees the brand employ Rube Goldberg machines to illustrate how unpredictable life can be and how Cigna can help get things back on track. 

Cigna has released two new 45" spots for its Travel Insurance and Mortgage & Rent Safe Insurance products. Each TVC features a different Rube Goldberg machine - an over-engineered machine created to perform a simple task in a complicated fashion, generally including a chain reaction.

The two TVCs are part of a suite of work created by Y&R NZ and production company Flying Fish, with two more TVCs to be released later this year. The latest suite of ads promote Cigna's new range of products expanding beyond their core base of Life Insurance and Funeral Cover.

VIEW THE TRAVEL SPOT
VIEW THE M&R SPOT

The Unexpected Homeless, a campaign by TBWA in partnership with NZME for the Salvation Army, has launched today leaving NZ Herald browsers struggling to get 'home'.
 
When you click on the major news website's 'Home' button, users are taken to an unexpected destination, a home they were not looking for.
 
Says Christy Peacock, ECD, TBWA: "We wanted to play with the preconceived notions of what it is to be homeless in New Zealand. Suddenly finding yourself without a home can happen to all of us, at any time. Thankfully the Salvation Army is there to help.

VIEW THE RICHARD SPOT
VIEW THE RACHAEL SPOT
VIEW THE TERRY SPOT

The 2016 Epica Awards are open for entries until this Friday, September 30.

This is a very special year as it marks Epica's 30th anniversary, with a full-day conference and an awards show in Amsterdam on November 17.
 
As the only global creative awards judged by journalists who write about advertising and marketing - including Campaign Brief for Australia and NZ - the Epica Awards allow agencies to show their work to a unique group of people who can spread the word about their creative talent.

ENTER NOW

This year, more than 60 editors and senior journalists will serve on the Epica jury, hailing from Adweek in the US to Werben & Verkaufen in Germany and everywhere in between. Click here to see the full jury member list.

As always, every agency that enters will get a free copy of the annual Epica Book - a 400-page bible of creative inspiration.

Holden New Zealand has launched the new Colorado with a 60 second TVC entitled 'Tow Truck' via Special Group, Auckland.

The spot tells the story of a Holden driver who comes to town and rights a wrong, all the while showcasing the new Colorado's impressive 3.5 tonne towing and low-end torque.

"Of course, the new Colorado has so much more than just loads of grunt," says Holden GM of Marketing, Marnie Jane Samphier. "Apart from its great new looks and redesigned interior it's loaded with the latest tech and has real car-like drivability."

VIEW THE SPOT

A regular blog by Damon Stapleton, chief creative officer of DDB New Zealand

"You could certainly save money by inviting people to your wedding in an email, but not many people would show up." - Rory Sutherland

I was not designed for the clinical beauty of Singapore. It has the humidity of a Bikram Yoga Studio inside a Turkish Bath House. I have hair that is the opposite of short. Subsequently, whenever I go there I feel like I have a dead octopus on my head.

I am perfectly designed for the temperature you feel at the base of a lone pine tree on the Tundra in the Arctic Circle. So, the relentless moisture of Singapore creates or adds to the fog in my head.

As it turned out, it would be the place that cleared it too.

In advertising, there is a lot of noise. It is easy to start looking at the wrong things.

The great fashion photographer Norman Parkinson once said the purpose of fashion is to change. In many ways, advertising is not that different. We are always looking at what is changing or what is new. Anybody remember Vine or Foursquare? Vine was launched in 2012. Four years ago, it was the biggest thing ever. I was in many meetings about vaguely doing something with it. Remember how it was going to change the advertising world. Anybody remember having conversations a couple of years ago about how all ads in the future would be 10 or 15 seconds long because that would work better on social media platforms? Anybody notice how the latest Kenzo ad Spike Jonze just shot is 3 minutes long. Boy, we talk a lot of shit in this business.

The annual Campaign Brief, Sweet Shop, Song Zu, Fin Design+Effects, Arcade, and Tiger Beer Legendary party kicked off this week's Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity.

It was a fun night in Gem Bar (and on the streets outside) with around 400 Spikes Asia delegates and friends joining us until the wee hours of the morning. This is the 4th year that we have held the party at Gem Bar and again it proved to be a legendary night.

Special thanks to Song Zu, The Sweet Shop, Fin Design+Effects, Arcade, Tiger Beer and the great guys at Gem Bar.

Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne's Snickers 'Hungerithm' campaign has taken out both the Media Grand Prix and the Mobile Grand Prix at Spikes Asia tonight in Singapore.

Overall, New Zealand and Australia put in a good performance, taking home an impressive haul of Gold, Silver and Bronze Spikes.

Media
Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne's Snickers 'Hungerithm' campaign won the Grand Prix as well as a Silver Spike and a Bronze Spike. Two Gold Spikes (and Silver Spikes) were awarded to Colenso BBDO, Auckland, one for DB Export 'Brewtroleum', the other for Amnesty International 'Unblocker', while GPY&R Brisbane won a Gold Spike and Silver Spike for Australia Road Safety Foundation 'Life Saving Stickers'. Only six Gold Spikes were awarded on the night. Two Silver Spikes were won by OMD New Zealand for V Energy 'Jono vs Ben' while Colenso BBDO, Auckland for DB Export 'Brewtroleum', Revolver / Will O'Rourke for ANZ 'Gaynz', Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for TAC 'The Human Test', Colenso BBDO Auckland for Anchor Milk 'X-Ray Casts', McCann Melbourne for MIFF 'The Emotional Trailer' and Y&R New Zealand for Burger King 'McWhopper' all won one Silver Spike each. Two Bronze Spikes were awarded to McCann Melbourne for MIFF 'The Emotional Trailer'. Bronze Spikes were awarded to M&C Saatchi Sydney for Lexus Australia 'Heartbeat', Mediacom New Zealand for Game of Bros 'Lover Boy and Lavalav Boys? The Great NZ Audience Heist', Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for Dry July 'Drytunes', TKT Sydney for Campbell Arnott's 'Campbells Souptube', GPY&R Brisbane for Suncorp 'Stuffies', SapientNitro Melbourne for Target 'Three Seconds that Revolutionised Retail' and OMD Sydney for Helloworld '#Helloworldrelay'.

The final day of Spikes Asia culminated in a ceremony last night in Singapore to celebrate the winners of the annual Spikes Asia Awards. The industry gathered to honour the best regional work.

Network of the Year was presented to BBDO with Y&R coming second and Leo Burnett in third place.

Colenso BBDO, Auckland received the Agency of the Year award while sister shop Clemenger BBDO Melbourne came second and Dentsu Inc., Tokyo placed third.

The Independent Agency of the Year was awarded to Party, Tokyo. Second place to Fred & Farid Shanghai and third to Enjin, Tokyo.

Finch, Australia received the Spikes Palm Award, honouring the most awarded production company in the eligible sections. Second came Guilty Content, Australia and third, Revolver/Will O'Rourke, Australia.

Colenso BBDO, Auckland's DB Export 'Brewtroleum' campaign has taken out the Promo & Activation Grand Prix, the Outdoor Grand Prix and the Integrated Grand Prix at Spikes Asia tonight in Singapore.

Overall, New Zealand and Australia put in a good performance, taking home an impressive haul of Gold, Silver and Bronze Spikes.

Integrated
Colenso BBDO, Auckland won the Grand Prix for DB Export 'Brewtroleum' while Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne won one of only two Gold Spikes awarded, for Bonds 'The Boys'. Only two Silver Spikes were awarded, one to Y&R New Zealand for Burger King 'McWhopper', the other to Clemenger BBDO Melbourne for Snickers 'Hungerithm'. 

The Burger King 'McWhopper' campaign via Y&R New Zealand has continued its winning run, taking out both the Direct Grand Prix and the Print & Publishing Grand Prix at Spikes Asia tonight in Singapore.

Overall, New Zealand and Australia put in a good performance, taking home an impressive haul of Gold, Silver and Bronze Spikes.

Creative Effectiveness
Clemenger BBDO Wellington scored one of only three Spikes awarded, for NZTA 'Mistakes'.

Design
DDB Group New Zealand won a Gold Spike for Sky TV 'Fargo Woollens', one of only five Gold Spikes awarded. The same work also scored a Silver Spike, one of 10 awarded. Leo Burnett Melbourne won a Bronze Spike for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

Curious Film has announced the addition of Oliver Green to the directing roster.

Green has worked in advertising for nearly 20 years. If he hasn't seen it all he's seen a lot.

He has worked in New Zealand at Mojo, Colenso BBDO and Shine. In Australia he's worked at BMF and LDN at LOWE, Saatchi, digital agency Hyper, 18 Feet and Rising and his last London gig was creative partner at Naked London. Green has also freelanced (stolen stationery) all over the world including Singapore, New York, South Africa and Hungary. He made the rise through the ranks from junior copywriter to senior creative and to creative director.

Shortlists for Creative Effectiveness, Integrated and Music have been released for Spikes Asia 2016.

New Zealand has scored an extra seven finalists; three in Creative Effectiveness including Colenso BBDO Auckland with two and Clemenger BBDO Wellington with one. In the Integrated category NZ has picked up three finalists from Colenso, Y&R NZ and Mediacom and Whybin\TBWA Auckland has scored New Zealand's only finalist in the Music category.

VIEW THE CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS SHORTLIST
VIEW THE INTEGRATED SHORTLIST
VIEW THE MUSIC SHORTLIST

FCB New Zealand has launched its first campaign for Massey University, which breaks from some of the more traditional concepts of the tertiary sector.
 
The campaign, which is a recruitment drive for semester one next year, sees the tertiary institution using lively visual imagery and confronting headlines projected onto campus buildings, grabbing the attention of prospective students.
 
Massey University's assistant vice-chancellor external relations and development Penelope Barr-Sellers says the campaign not only has a great visual impact, it is thought-provoking and differentiates Massey among tertiary sector advertising.
 
Says Barr-Sellers: "It's bold, colourful and energetic. It is designed to provoke discussion and inspire prospective students of all ages to take action to achieve their personal aspirations. The campaign will make Massey stand out and be talked about."

The biggest night on the New Zealand advertising industry calendar is fast approaching, with finalists in the 2016 NZ Effie Awards announced today.

Colenso BBDO Auckland heads the agency pack with 28 finalists followed by FCB with 16, DDB with 11 and True with nine.

Organised by the Communication Agencies Association of New Zealand (CAANZ) with key partner TVNZ, the 2016 NZ Effie Awards will be presented at a glittering ceremony at The Langham, Auckland on October 20.

An Effie Award is recognised globally by advertisers and agencies as the industry's pre-eminent award and represents the pinnacle in marketing effectiveness. The Effie programme is held in 40 countries and has been run in New Zealand for 15 years.

VIEW THE FULL LIST OF FINALISTS

The second batch of finalists have been announced for Spikes Asia 2016 in Digital, Digital Craft, Film Craft and Mobile.

Colenso BBDO Auckland leads the New Zealand pack with five finalists. In the Digital catgeory New Zealand has scored nine finalists led by Ogilvy with three. In the Digital Craft category Colenso has scored NZ's only finalist. The Film Craft category sees New Zealand score four finalists led by Colenso with two and FCB NZ has scored a finalist in Mobile.

VIEW THE DIGITAL SHORTLIST
VIEW THE DIGITAL CRAFT SHORTLIST
VIEW THE FILM CRAFT SHORTLIST
VIEW THE MOBILE SHORTLIST

bcg2 has been appointed as creative agency for New Zealand Opera. Digital, radio and print creative for the September 2016 season of Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is currently in market. Work is also commencing on the company's 2017 season.

The account was won following a competitive pitch process.

Says Stuart Maunder, general manager, New Zealand Opera: "New Zealand Opera is passionate about building new audiences for the genre and this underpins everything we do - from our education work within the communities we serve to our mainstage seasons in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.  bcg2's grasp of this really shone through in their response to our pitch.  They have already proved themselves with their wonderfully creative approach to Sweeney Todd and we are very excited to be working with them on our 2017 season."

The first round of shortlists have been announced at Spikes Asia 2016 including Design, Direct, Entertainment, Film, Healthcare, Innovation, Media, Outdoor, PR, Print & Outdoor Craft, Print & Publishing, Promo & Activation and Radio.

New Zealand has scored a total of 72 finalists so far led by Colenso BBDO Auckland dominating with 28 finalists. In Design DDB has scored two finalists for New Zealand; in Direct New Zealand has scored 13 finalists led by Colenso with four; in Entertainment Colenso and Ogilvy NZ have scored a finalist each and in Film New Zealand has three finalists led by Clemenger BBDO Wellington with two. Colenso has scored NZ's only finalist in Healthcare; in the Media category New Zelaand has scored 13 again led by Colenso; in Outdoor 12 finalists are from New Zealand led by Colenso with seven and in PR New Zealand has secured three finalists with Colenso picking up two. The Print & Outdoor Craft category sees FCB pick up the only finalist from the region; in Print & Publishing New Zealand has scored four finalists; in Promo & Activation New Zealand has 13 finalists led by Colenso and in Radio New Zealand has scored five finalists led by DDB with three.

VIEW THE DESIGN SHORTLIST
VIEW THE DIRECT SHORTLIST
VIEW THE ENTERTAINMENT SHORTLIST
VIEW THE FILM SHORTLIST
VIEW THE HEALTHCARE SHORTLIST
VIEW THE INNOVATION SHORTLIST
VIEW THE MEDIA SHORTLIST
VIEW THE OUTDOOR SHORTLIST
VIEW THE PR SHORTLIST
VIEW THE PRINT & OUTDOOR CRAFT
VIEW THE PRINT & PUBLISHING SHORTLIST
VIEW THE PROMO & ACTIVATION SHORTLIST
VIEW THE RADIO SHORTLIST

Each week Bestads picks the very best advertising in the world, in every medium - which is reviewed by a top creative director or team to select their own personal favourites.

This week's guest judge is Doerte Spengler-Ahrens, chief creative officer at Jung von Matt/Elbe in Hamburg, Germany.

BEST TV
Winner: Adidas. After all the TV ads to celebrate the handicapped sportsmen, running with one foot I must say this is a very honest one because it mirrors the thoughts of the viewer. It focuses on the word "odd" which is exactly what people think when they see handicapped people performing as athletes. The TV spot turns around the meaning of the word "odd" and disarms it. As a result you feel odd finding running with one leg, odd. So it not only motivates the handicapped to keep on performing but also the regular sportsmen to stop finding it odd. READ MORE...

Norman Pearlstine, vice-chairman of Time Inc., will be president of the international Epica Awards jury this year.

Founded in 1987, Epica is the only global creative prize judged by an independent jury of journalists working for the world's best marketing and communications titles, including Campaign Brief publisher and editor Michael Lynch, representing New Zealand and Australia.

A highly experienced journalist, during his career Pearlstine has held posts including Managing Editor and then Executive Editor of The Wall Street Journal, Editor-in-Chief of Time Inc., Chief Content Officer of Bloomberg L.P. and Chief Content Officer of Time Inc.

ENTER THE EPICA AWARDS NOW - DEADLINE SEPT 30

Cannes Lions has today announced the distribution of donations raised through its ground-breaking award for outstanding creative work that shatters gender stereotypes, Glass Lion: the Lion for Change.

This year's submissions were from 38 countries and featured work that confronted gender-based prejudice and inequality. The proceeds from the 155 entries into the Glass Lion at this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity have been shared between ten gender equality-focussed charities from across the world: UN Women, Equality Now, Pro Mujer, Global Fund for Women, Gender and Development Network, Geena Davis Institute, Men Engage, Women for Women, Clinton Foundation and UN Women National Committee of the UK.

Live at the Festival, attendees picked their favourite charity from the selected 10 and made donations using an activation platform delivered in partnership with in/PACT. Donations will support a range of causes, including:

Pro Mujer is committed to empowering women in Latin America.

Says Lynne Patterson, co-founder, Pro Mujer: "The generous contributions of Cannes Lions attendees will provide essential health services and training, supporting women to break free from the cycle of poverty."

Clemenger BBDO Sydney creative director Luke Hawkins is in Singapore sitting on the Film, Print & Publishing, Print & Outdoor Craft jury at Spikes Asia. Here's his report on Day One of the judging.

I arrived in Singapore last night to a city buzzing with Formula One fever. After an eventful journey to the hotel involving several road blocks and having to navigate my way on foot through a huge underground carpark using google maps with one bar of signal strength, I managed to catch the last half hour of the race from my balcony. An experience which can be best summed up as loud, fast and pretty fucking awesome.

The Whybin\TBWA name is no more, at least in Auckland and Sydney, but it appears the web administrator in Melbourne, where Whybin\TBWA started as Whybin Dery Barnes back in 1992, has yet to catch up.

The logo has changed on the Sydney and Auckland web pages, but Melbourne has yet to do so. Perhaps it's due to the latter's lingering respect for their founder, who departed the group in April?

An official announcement of the name change has yet to come through, although CB suspects it's something they don't really want to make a big fuss about.

An older piece taken from the archives of damonsbrain - a blog written by Damon Stapleton, chief creative officer of DDB New Zealand

"There is no bad whiskey. There are only some whiskeys that aren't as good as others." - Raymond Chandler

What is a creative department? It is kind of a stupid name. A bit like art regiment or idea navy. Actually, I quite like idea navy.

It is an amazing place to work. In a split second, somebody can put two and two together and all of a sudden you are staring at a beautiful idea. To get paid to come up with ideas is a great way to make a living. And there are days, that are so special, they stay with you for life. Those are the days when the invisible becomes visible. When the idea in your head is standing in front of you.

The Epica Awards has once again joined forces with Lürzer's Archive, the creative resource for advertising professionals, for our joint photography prize: The Lürzer's Archive/Epica Advertising Photography Award.

The winning work will be featured in the Lürzer's Archive magazine and on the Lürzer's Archive website. Not to mention in the annual Epica Book. See the 2015 winner here.

Lürzer's Archive publisher and editor-in-chief Michael Weinzettl will present the Gold award during the Epica ceremony in Amsterdam on November 17.

ENTER THE EPICA AWARDS NOW - DEADLINE SEPT 30

The CAANZ board has elected Louise Bond, CEO of PHD Group, as president of the association, following Simon Lendrum's decision to step down, following his two and a half year stint in the role.

Says Paul Head, CEO, CAANZ: "Louise has been actively involved with CAANZ for a number of years; firstly as part of the media committee, where she is the current chair, and over the past four years, on the board. She has served as board vice-president for the past two and a half years and has done a great job in that capacity. She was the unanimous choice of the board to take over from Simon."

Says Bond: "CAANZ plays an important role in a very exciting and challenging industry. The nature of communications is changing by the minute and we're certainly moving into a space where consumers are telling brands what they expect, how they want them to behave and how they would like to hear from them.

"There is constant pressure on every member of our industry to perform to the highest possible standard to ensure that we meet both client and consumer needs while also advancing the industry. CAANZ offers critical leadership and support.  It's a privilege to be elected as President - and I look forward to meeting every challenge, head-on."

Westpac has launched a new campaign to support its latest initiative, an innovative smartphone app called CashNav via DDB NZ.

The CashNav app tracks people's spending and bill payments, grouping spending into easily digestible categories. Within a few days of the soft launch on Sept 5 CashNav was already the number two free app on the NZ App Store, and the number two new free app on the NZ Google Play Store for Android.
 
Designed to help Westpac customers do more with their money, CashNav is the first integrated app in New Zealand to track finances and deliver spending insights. To get users on-board with the new app, DDB has rolled out a multi-layered "Spendonyms" campaign, intended to show Kiwis that the money you spend on non-essentials could be your ticket to Fiji (Coff-fiji), that car you've been eyeing up (Burg-car), or tickets to the big game (Chug-by).

VIEW THE SHOE-SHI SPOT
VIEW THE COFF-FIJI SPOT
VIEW THE BURG-CAR SPOT

Barnes, Catmur & Friends Dentsu band Friends Electric has taken back the much coveted championship title for the one event on the advertising calendar that has nothing to do with advertising.

The ninth annual Battle of the Ad Bands competition proudly bought to you by Flying Fish and CAANZ saw six agency bands fight it out in an epic clash of egos and music ability last night, Thursday 15th September, emceed by the one and only Mikey Havoc.

Hundreds of 'groupies' packed out The Kings Arms to watch their colleagues belt out Boy and Girl Band classics and prance about the stage in beige suits and afro wigs. Our esteemed judging panel of Jason Faafoi (of cult classic kids TV show, What Now), Brandon Lela'ulu (the favourite maitre D of Prego), and Georgia Cubbon (Radio Hauraki) were very impressed by their quality of musicianship and performance.