Hasta La Creative!

(TrendHunter.com) These thoughtful his-and-hers gifts for couples are the perfect way to inspire even more affection between a loving duo. Some of these mushy gifts might make anybody who’s not part of a couple…

Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation and 21st Century Fox, and Wendi Deng Murdoch agreed to end their 14-year marriage.

Microsoft’s anti-Google machine is churning again.

Earlier today, the company opened up an online shop selling a line of “Scroogled” merchandise, just in time for the holidays. Yes, Microsoft not only thinks you want a hoodie, hat, coffee mug and t-shirt emblazoned with anti-Google messaging, they think they can sell it to you.

“Keep calm while we steal your data,” reads a line printed on the coffee mug and matching t-shirt. The mug is priced at a reasonable $7.99 while the t-shirt will set you back $11.99.

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Unilever, the international conglomerate producing over 400 products, hasn’t always had a sterling environmental and social record. In 2007, Greenpeace targeted the corporation for the deforestation of Indonesian rainforests linked to its sources of palm oil. The UN Environmental Programme called palm oil plantations the leading cause of deforestation in Indonesia. Then, in 2011, Unilver partnered with Proctor and Gamble in a European washing powder price-fixing scheme. About the best thing you could say about Unilever was “at least they’re not Nestlé.”

But in recent years Unilever has been doing a lot to change public perception and at least appear to work toward sustainability. They were a founding member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil and in 2012 announced that its sustainable palm oil target would be reached three years ahead of schedule, as well as promising “100% palm oil from certified traceable sources by 2020.” But a report issued last week by the International Labor Rights Forum and Sawit Watch found ”flagrant disregard for human rights at some of the very plantations the RSPO certifies as ‘sustainable.’” These human rights violations included “labor trafficking, child labor, unprotected work with hazardous chemicals, and long-term abuse of temporary contracts.”

So here we are a week later, on Universal Children’s Day, and Unilver has a new campaign called “Project Sunlight,” which it describes in a press release as appealing to everyone, but particularly parents, “encouraging them to join what Unilever sees as a growing community of people who want to make the world a better place for children and future generations” and “a new initiative to motivate millions of people to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.”

At the center of Ogilvy London’s campaign is the video, directed by Academy Award-winning director Errol Morris, and scored with the worst Pixies cover you’ve ever heard, ”Why Bring A Child Into This World?.” which answers that question by stating that our grandchildren will live in a better place than we do. It’s a slick, well-produced 4:26 clip charged with sentimentality and promise, especially if you’re a new or expectant parent.

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After three years of offering McRib nationally, McDonald’s is switching back to offering the sandwich on a regional basis.

The chain will leave the rollout of the McRib up to its franchise groups, according to the Associated Press, which broke the news. Many McDonald’s locations have been offering the product for the past couple weeks.

A McDonald’s spokeswoman said: “This year we continue to focus on our customers for the remainder of 2013 with several new menu items Mighty Wings, Southwest Premium McWrap, White Chocolate and Peppermint Mocha. We also had introduced Pumpkin Spice Latte earlier in the fall. Because of these new options, we left it up to our franchisees as to whether or not they want to offer the McRib, based on their local preferences.” She added that customers can go to the fan-generated mcriblocator.com website to find which markets where the sandwich may be available.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

(TrendHunter.com) The Gabriel Chandelier is enchanting in an alien sort of way. It is made up of crystal modules that drip from the ceiling in a vein-like manner that is at once futuristic and whimsical. In a way, it…

You've seen most of the big viral ads of the year, but not this one—because it was made for the Turkish market by Unilever's Cornetto ice cream brand. It's a short film about a fateful teenage romance, set to a track by Turkish pop singer Yal?n. It's gotten more than 26 million views on YouTube since April, which is pretty incredible, given the market. Notably, though, the spot doesn't even feature ice cream—it's simply presented by Cornetto.

The brand did some similar films in the U.K. this year; the Turkish work was the pilot program. Ben Curtis, senior brand development manager for Cornetto, told Marketing Week: "The short films allow us to take more time to develop a deeper connection with teenagers in a way that we can't in a 30-second spot. Also we know that our teens are always online, and are so creative."