Another week has come and gone and we’ve got another few stories to share with you! Pop on the kettle, kick up your feet and settle into these top stories, it’s time for your Mid-week Mash-up!

Reebok Challenges Us To ‘Be More Human’ In New Campaign

No pain, no gain! Reebok has launched a global repositioning campaign that features the often-intense and grueling fitness regimes of everyday, hardcore athletes in their latest ad titled, ‘Freak Show’. If this ad doesn’t inspire you to grab your trainers and run through the mud, we don’t know what will…

Dove and Twitter Partner Up For Social Change

Setting out to change the conversation on social media, Dove has teamed up with Twitter in the #SpeakBeautiful campaign, urging us all to change our negative sentiment online to a positive one when it comes to body image. Join the conversation on Twitter and contribute to the positivity.

Honda Challenges Us All to ‘Keep Up’ In Speed Reading Ads

Promoting their new product range, Honda has released a new ad that challenges us to ‘Keep Up’ (if you can) while words appear at a speed of 500 words per minute across the screen. The fast-paced feel and flashing of words is accelerated online, where you can challenge yourself to harder versions. Are you keeping up?

Snickers Transforms New York Billboard In Follow-Up to Super Bowl Spot

Following on from their successful Super Bowl ad that received top-notch ratings from viewers, Snickers presented New York City with a billboard of Marcia Brady and documented the three-week transformation of Marsha to Danny Trejo in the comical ‘Hungerlapse’.  Take a look…

The Visual Masterpiece That Is ‘The Wizard of Oz’ As Imagined By a Blind Girl

American cable provider Comcast debuted a powerful ad during Sunday night’s Oscars that features the imagined look of The Wizard of Oz as described by Emily, a young girl who was born blind. As mentioned in the ad, Comcast offers a feature called “talking guide”, developed by the Comcast Accessibility Lab, that includes voice guidance and easy one-touch access to closed-captioning. This feature is a prime example of Comcast’s commitment to provide people with visual disabilities the opportunity to enjoy entertainment. Have a look…

It might just be our imagination, but it seems so much warmer and brighter outside this week! Could it be that Spring is right around the corner (please, please!)? Either way, we’ve collected a few stories from the past week that are guaranteed to warm you up! If Ikea’s Valentine’s Day ad doesn’t make you blush, we don’t know what will…

Adidas Reminds Us That Today Is Up For Grabs

Do something and be remembered, or do nothing and be forgotten. It’s that simple. This latest spot called ‘Take It’ from Adidas urges athletes to take on the challenges of each day, regardless of what happened in the past, giving focus to the present and what possibly lies ahead.

Facebook’s New Ads Focus On The Importance Of Connecting Through Friendship

Facebook continues to celebrate their 11th anniversary by following up their tribute to friendship with the release of two new ads that highlight the importance of our connections and also emphasize Mark Zuckerberg’s Internet initiative, internet.org. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, doesn’t it?

Booking.com Shows Us Our Destiny Is Often In The Details

Online travel agent Booking.com released a new 60-second spot that follows the crazy life of a man who’s destiny depended on a hostel that he booked while travelling abroad. Seems far-fetched, but very possible if you consider small choices that you’ve made in your life and how they’ve led you down different paths…

Placement of Pizza Brand’s Outdoor Ads Are Purposely Hard To Notice

As a way to cleverly emphasize the delicious taste of their dairy-free pizza, this campaign from Daiya Foods (launched by agency TDA_Boulder) has designed and discreetly placed ads that make you notice them. From bus-tops to stickers strategically placed on benches, elevator panels and grocery store floors, these ads emphasize the idea that ‘It’s easier to notice this ad than notice our pizza is dairy-free’.

IKEA’s Cheeky Valentine’s Day Ad Doesn’t Disappoint

In addition to the standard chocolates and flowers that we’ve all come to look forward to, it is, once again the annual ad from furniture retailer Ikea that never seems to disappoint! You may recall their ad from 2013 that offered a voucher for a free cot to any baby born on November 14th, 2013 (exactly nine months to the day from Valentine’s Day). Their Valentine’s Day ad from last year was also a hit as it featured two chairs (suggestively) stacked on top of each other wishing all a Happy Valentine’s Day. Well, it appears that Ikea is at it again this year with their cheeky ad that introduces their new line of “beds”. Oh Ikea, how we love thee!

It might be another cold and dreary day outside, but we have collected a few of the top stories from the past week to warm you up! Grab your hot drink of choice, kick up those feet, it’s time, once again, for your mid-week mash-up!

Love Is In The Air In Latest Interflora Ad

With Valentine’s Day coming up on Saturday, we thought we might kick off our first story with a love-themed ad. Don’t hate us. It’s just a simple story of Goth Guy meets Preppy Princess in this latest ad from flower delivery service Interflora. Have a look…

New Possible Facebook Ad Format Is Downright Hypnotic

Cinemagraphs, the digital world’s version of a beautifully crafted print ad, are looking to be the advertising format of choice for both Facebook and Instagram ads. These GIF-style images combine isolated movements to photographs and the overall effect is oddly hypnotic. Have a look at a few below, and try not to stare…

Gap’s Instagram Video Series Offers Bite-Sized Content To Busy Consumers

American-based clothing retailer ‘The Gap’ has released a series of 15 second videos on Instagram as a clever way to promote the spring season’s top trends and feature the clothing brought to life throughout each different episode. The introduction of these bite-sized bits of micro-content cater to the time-restrained consumers by offering them a way to interact with online campaigns and brand promotions in a clever and timely fashion (no pun intended).

 

 

McDonald’s Sunrise Billboard Uses Real-Time Data To Light Up The Morning

This latest Canadian-based outdoor billboard features the rising of McDonalds’ famous Egg McMuffin in time with the sun. Using real-time data, a spokesperson from Cossette,  the integrated marketing communications agency behind the idea, stated, “The digital board was synced to sunrise times over the course of the buy, with each frame lined up as best as we could get it.”

 

Hiking Boot Brand Creates Scary Hike Experience Using Oculus Rift

Hiking boot brand, Merrell, thrills consumers with an activation experience that was featured at the Sundance Film Festival last month by creating the Merrell TrailScape–an exhilarating virtual reality event using Oculus Rift, providing potential hikers with the heart thumping experience that they are scooting along a crumbling mountain ledge and carefully crossing a teetering wooden bridge high up in the mountains. The event highlighted the release of Merrell’s most advanced boot to date, the Capra. Not sure about you, but our boots are shaking at the thought!

Another Super Bowl came and went, and along with it, loads of ads that still have people debating which ones were tops and which ones were flops. This week’s mash-up features a few of the most talked about (good and bad) ads of Sunday’s big game.

Snickers Strikes Gold With The Brady Bunch Ad

Featuring 2 notable cameos, there isn’t anything we didn’t LOVE about this spot. Take a look and decide for yourself…

Budweisers ‘Lost Dog’ Scores Great Praises

Nothing like a little lost puppy action to really draw us in! This ad also received top ratings and many websites are voting it as their favourite ad. Have a look…

Esurance ‘Sorta’ Ad Is Sorta Brilliant 

Another notable cameo during the ads of Sunday’s big game included one of televisions most loved characters. Take a look…

Now, with the good, there comes the bad. Here are a few of Sunday’s notably disappointing ads…

Nationwide’s ‘Jarring’ Ad Is Super Bowl’s Greatest Buzzkill

Nationwide’s Super Bowl ad, meant to raise awareness for the safety of children (cut to overflowing bathtubs and child-smashing TV’s), has notoriously won top prize of the greatest buzzkill ad known to Super Bowl fans. Take a look…but don’t say we didn’t warn ya!

Kim Kardashian’s Save The Data Has Mixed Reviews

While most of us have had our fill of the Kardashians (seriously, where will they pop up next?), it is nice to see Kim not take herself so seriously for once. Take a look…

 McDonalds, We Aren’t Really ‘Lovin’ It

The ad is nearly as bad as the food, itself. Sorry, McDonalds, better luck next time…