App helps prove that Santa is real

 
We believe that Santa is real, but sometimes proving it can be difficult as young ones become skeptical. Besides, Santa always comes well after their bedtime. Not to worry – the new Kringle app is here to help show the disbelievers and the haters that Santa has indeed visited your house… with a little iPhone video magic, of course.

iPhone users are misunderstood

It's a common sight these days: people with their eyeballs glued to their smartphones, scrolling and tapping, detached from what's happening in the world around them. In an effort to turn this negative on it's head, Apple have just released a Christmas ad titled 'Misunderstood'… and, dare we say it, it kinda works.

Merry Christmas from Tenfold Creative

At Tenfold, we're all about creating better results – even when it's holiday time. This year we endeavoured to help ease people from work to holiday mode with a graphic guide… and a sweet little gift to kick start the holiday season.

If only for a second

Feeling carefree, if only for a moment, is rare for those diagnosed with cancer. The Mimi Foundation set out to give cancer patients a moment free from worry while documenting their approach. The resulting video has gone viral – at last check, the video had attracted over 11 million hits on YouTube.

Read it. Cook it. Eat it.

This cookbook doesn't just provide the method for making a delicious lasagna… the book is one of the main ingredients itself. Made of 100% fresh pasta, 'The Real Cookbook' is designed to be layered with ingredients as you go through the steps. Read, cook, eat and enjoy!

The Wellington Advent Calendar… it's back!

The capital is once again celebrating the Christmas season with its famous online advent calendar, providing treats for residents and visitors alike. Much like your usual advent calendar, each day of December leading up to Christmas promises a new Wellington treat to be revealed. Treats include discount vouchers, two for one deals and exclusive offers. Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT) launched The Wondrous Wellington Advent Calendar at the beginning of the month after receiving much positive feedback on previous advent calendars.

Way of the future, or publicity stunt?

There's been a lot of hubbub about the Amazon Prime Air delivery drones lately. To fill you in, Amazon has been working on a way to get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less in the coolest way possible – via drones that fly through the air, delivering packages that weigh up to five pounds (which covers over 85% of the items Amazon delivers). But the timely announcement hours before shoppers jumped online for Cyber Monday sales, along with some logistical queries, have got people wondering: are the delivery drones science fiction, or are they real?

Tesco's face-scan fiasco

Some say it's creepy and invasive, others say it's the way of the future… and they're both right. British supermarket chain Tesco is installing face-scanning cameras at its 450 gas stations across the UK to target customers with customized ads. How? Well, the cameras can determine a shopper's gender and age range by analyzing facial features in an anonymous fashion, and then bring up ads that have been programmed for that scanned demographic. The technology has reminded many of the movie Minority Report, in which ads in stores address commuters by name after scanning their eyes.

Unwrap joy

This Christmas, Cadbury has debuted their first ever festive-themed ad over in the UK – and it's a bit cute. Set in a quiet London street, the spot follows a group of local children unwrapping their homes, cars and trees which have been wrapped in purple wrapping paper. The children set about unveiling their street with gusto, discovering delicious Cadbury chocolate along the way (including chocolate from their new Christmas range – 'Mousse Snowman', 'Chocolate Santa' and 'Snowman and Santa Hollows').

The unique story of Sarah and Paige

The Skype collection of ads known as the 'Stay Together' series focuses on family and friends keeping in touch around the world. When Skype began creating the series, they asked users to submit their stories on how they kept in touch using the service. Though they received more than 1,000 entries, none were more touching than the story of Sarah from Nappanee, America and Paige from Auckland, New Zealand.

Keeping our eye on new tracking technology

Want to use your tablet when you've got a melting ice cream in your free hand? Perhaps you've broken an arm, or have no arm at all... using a tablet, computer or phone in these circumstances can get pretty tricky. The Eye Tribe Tracker, which is currently in development, aims to let your eyes do the tapping, swiping and clicking for you by detecting the movement of your eyes. And it won't cost you the planet either – this device will set you back just $99. No wonder they're been taking pre-orders since September, despite the fact that the product won't be released until some time next year.

Home on the streets

The Salvation Army have taken to the Canadian streets in highlighting the issue of homelessness. Bench seats, car parks, and nooks on busy roads are no place for anyone to live, so a simple message has been placed in these areas along with a method of donating to the Salvation Army. All that's been required to get the attention of the public are some simple stickers placed around the city looking like street address signs.

A Christmas you'll never forget

Have a tissue at the ready. UK retailer John Lewis is famous for their touching Christmas ads, but this one is just too sweet for words (and has been cleverly woven into many marketing channels). Their comprehensive £7m campaign tees off with this 2-minute animation entitled "The Bear and the Hare", which is a story about how the first snowflake of winter effects the friendship of two woodland buddies. Winter is all about hibernation for the Bear, so he's never experienced Christmas... until Hare leaves him a present that lets Bear enjoy the festivities for the very first time.

Every letter tells a story

Why does a building site have to be ugly? This installation of large, illuminated letters were exhibited around a building site in London's Victoria, with every letter telling a story about the area. "We wanted to end up with a visually rich and eclectic set of letters to sum up the area," commented Tim Donaldson of Hat-Trick Design, "the mix of past, present and future, heritage (royalty, architecture, famous residents), culture, art, green space, wildlife…"

Blocking out time

Coolest calendar ever? Possibly. Developed by a studio in the UK, this mounted time planner is made entirely of LEGO blocks. That in itself is pretty cute, but the cool factor comes in with the ability to transfer the data to your google calendar or iCal. All you need is a smartphone with a camera.

Our trans-Tasman race for charity

This October, the team at Tenfold will be joining top athletes, celebrities and the New Zealand public in a race against our country's oldest rival – Australia. That's right, it's ANZA challenge time. The challenge is a unique and engaging charity event which raises funds for the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation. All around New Zealand and Australia participants compete for the best overall national time in a final 10km race. The country with the fastest time wins!

Volkswagen's 'A-Ha' moment

Here's something that's a bit light-hearted for your Monday. When VW launched its 'Feeling Carefree' campaign promoting a carefree maintenance scheme for its vehicles, they called on the nostalgic music video for A-Ha's hit song, 'Take On Me' for inspiration. This 80s music video was hugely popular and won many awards. The 45-second spot was created using a combination of still drawings, animation, live action and rotoscoping techniques – just like the original music video.

A bit of bling for the trophy shelf

If you haven't seen the write up in the Marketing Magazine about the Heart Foundation winning the not-for-profit category at the TVNZ Marketing Awards, don't worry. The above clip gives a brief run down on what made the 2013 Heart Week such a success. We are stoked, and were honoured to have played a part in this awesome win! Congratulations Heart Foundation, you deserve it!

Mini salutes their drivers

While we're not all experts on cars and car brands, there is a kind of car we all know of – the Mini. In the car world, Minis are quite different to the bulk of other vehicles out there, so Mini UK celebrated this point of difference with their 'Not Normal' campaign over the summer. But then Mini took it a step further – they found ways of honoring the 'not normal' relationship Mini owners have with their cars through the use of interactive posters/billboards (salutes) and giveaways. Check out the video below, it's an awesome watch!

Dream a little dream of Cadbury

Got a dream? Is it a dream for childhood (like meeting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) or a dream from current circumstance (like giving the kitchen a much needed overhaul)? Whatever your dream is, Cadbury New Zealand could make it come true. Their latest campaign encourages Kiwis to share the dreams of their loved ones and themselves. They will then fund some of those big ideas and make them a reality, documenting the results (for future TVCs, of course!).

Get in the cockpit and track flights in real time

What began as a hobby project for two aviation geeks in 2006 has now become a website that receives more than 10 million visits a month – and we can see why. Flightradar24 is a service that tracks flights going all over the world in real time. When you tune in to the web version, you get an idea of how busy the sky is. But that's not all. Clicking on each airplane icon gives detailed information about the craft such as the flight number, destination, origin, speed, altitude, aircraft type and more. We spotted one leaving for Fiji from Auckland just half an hour ago, and yes, we may have wished we were on it (it's cold today, okay?).

Celebrating the power of curiosity

How do you condense 65 years of automotive innovation and engineering feats into a 100-second short film, while hinting at the future to come? The Honda 'Hands' spot is the answer – a video celebrating the ongoing curiosity of its engineers. The clip makes light work of Honda's many milestones and takes us on a magical journey that started with one Honda engineer and a lone bolt… from the company's Isle of Man TT-winning motorbikes to its famous robot, ASIMO ("konichiwa!"), this clip is an absolute pleasure to watch.

Gives 'hitting the bottle' a whole new meaning

Kiwis and tourists alike were shocked to find that a small van had crashed into a notable New Zealand landmark, the big L&P bottle, on the weekend. But it wasn't any old van… it was a van belonging to a New Zealand chocolate company, Whittaker's. Coincidence? Well, we now know it was "the accident New Zealand has been waiting for", but it sure caused a fuss on social media sites as well as appearing in the national news.

Enjoy more films like this

Fitted with two cameras on the front bumper, one on the rear bumper and a camera under each side mirror, the Land Rover Discovery 4 is equipped to help motorists navigate almost any terrain… and create some pretty cool flicks. To promote the 360 degree camera system, two TV spots show 'films' that have been captured using these cameras.

Advertisement written in 'dog' gets tongues wagging

With over half a million dogs in New Zealand, it's important that our fellow canines voice their opinions on the 'big issues'. So when reports came out about vets suggesting we 'ditch the stick' in games of fetch for fear of serious injury, dogs certainly made sure they got a word in!

Sovereign's part in Fieldays 2013

Seen as a window into one of the most innovative agricultural economies in the world, the New Zealand National Agricultural Fieldays event is kind of a big deal. It's been communicating with the rural community for over 45 years, and this year we assisted Sovereign in getting their message across effectively. The 2013 event saw over 125,000 visitors attending, so it was crucial that the exhibit opened up the communication channels to everyone that walked past.

Heart Foundation are in the finals!

Now in their 22nd year, the TVNZ Marketing Awards celebrate everything that makes marketing great, focusing solely on the business benefits of strong marketing strategies. We're excited to announce that the Heart Foundation has made it into the finals (again!) for an outstanding 2013 Heart Week that we can all be proud of. Well done, Heart Foundation!

Face to face with drink-driving consequences

Prepare to be spooked. London's Department for Transport's THINK! campaign has released a new clip that aims to scare the crap out of potential offenders… and it works. The video entitled #PubLooShocker features 'unsuspecting' drinkers going to the bathroom in a bar. As they wash their hands, a bloody head is propelled into the back of the mirror, bringing the drinkers face to face with a very haunting image… an image one might be confronted with if someone came through windscreen. Check it out below.

A smarter use for smarter billboards

These IBM billboards are not billboards at all. Rather, they become part of the environment… ads that garner our attention by being useful as we go about our day. Created to promote IBM's Smarter Cities initiative, these billboards can be used as a shelter from the rain, a bench or a ramp. "We were looking for an idea that reached regular citizens as well as city leaders," says Susan Westre, the Executive Creative Director at IBM. "That's how outdoor became the medium."

Trial by timeline

Overall, you're a pretty obedient, law-abiding citizen… right? Well, maybe you live. But the things you do in your day to day life could be crimes in other countries. For instance, just having a Facebook account warrants torture and imprisonment in Myanmar. So what would you be guilty of around the world? Amnesty International's new tool, 'Trial by Timeline', calculates just that – and you only have to push a button to find out.

Putting the fire back in newspaper ads

It takes a different type of thinking to stand out from the crowd in newspaper advertising. When the much anticipated season 3 premiere of Game of Thrones was promoted in the New York Times, readers really got the feeling that the show was close to airing. So close, in fact, that they'd be forgiven for looking to the skies in search of a dragon from the series.

Serenading with a saw – easy as

How will you show your affection this Valentine's Day? Getting in touch with your softer side is easier for some than it is for others. Mitre 10's DIY tutorial series, Easy As, is here to help. They posted this sweet video for a DIY Valentine's gift like no other… see below.

Daily dismemberment

To mark the television series The Walking Dead coming back on air for their third season, something gruesome has been set up in Toronto's Union Station. The zombie hands installment is counting down for ten days, and as each day passes, one finger drops to the station floor. This creepy countdown continues until the series finally returns to air. Pretty gross, but pretty fun. Plus they managed to add a social media layer to the ambient campaign too!

The quest for the perfect shot

Going the extra distance for the perfect photo – we've all got our limits. But for those of us that are avid photographers, those limits seem to be non-existent… a phenomenon captured beautifully (and hilariously) in this new clip for the Canon EOS Rebel T4i. The director of the famous Sony Bravia 'Balls' ad, Nicolai Fugslig, was in on the action to create this spot. Check it out below!

Dim poster with a smart idea

An Amsterdam-based restaurant, CTaste, gives their patrons a chance to dine in the dark, allowing them to experience a "journey of taste, sound and touch". The restaurant aims to serve food bursting with flavour, enhancing the taste experience even more by taking away the ability to see their meal. Even the waiters that serve you are blind/visually impaired, so you well and truly get a feel for their world by the end of the night.