The 56th D&AD Awards in London has ranked New Zealand as #8 creative advertising country in the world, with 21 Pencils. Australia ranked #6 with 31 Pencils.

Online editorial story FML, designed by Auckland digital agency Gladeye for New York-based HuffPost Highline, has won the 2018 Webby Award for Best Individual Editorial Experience.

NZ Alcohol Beverage Council exec director Nick Leggett was the voice of commonsense as he fired a shot at “sensationalist” headlines about liquor consumption in a NZ Herald opinion piece published this week (scroll down for the link).

Still basking in the afterglow of Anzac Day, we’ve chosen to share with readers this rather cool video of a Kiwi pianist playing our National Anthem, filmed on location in Christchurch & Leeston.

“When it comes to hunting down unique characters for film and commercial work, Zoe McIntosh is in her element unveiling these best kept stories,” says Sweetshop NZ MD Fiona King, introducing the film co’s latest signing.

Like the rest of us Kiwis, M+AD will be spending much of tomorrow (Wednesday 25 April) toasting our military heroes, and remembering that they fought for peace.

Sky TV, with Fuse and OMD, has become the first brand in New Zealand to use the Promoted Stories feature on Snapchat.

Promoted Stories are a new way for brands to tell their stories in the same way Snapchatters and ‘Discover’ publishers do. “This new format allows advertisers to drive business results, like awareness and consideration, on a massive scale,” says Sky TV head of online Kristy Simpson.

New Zealand scored six D&AD Pencils overnight – but the winners will have to wait until the awards ceremony in London this Thursday (26 April) to find out which colour Pencil (Wood, Graphite, Yellow or Black) they’ve won.