Hasta La Creative!

Early last year, Cheng Wei, founder and chief executive of the Chinese ride-hailing juggernaut Didi Chuxing, tried to resist taking money from legendary investor Masayoshi Son. Cheng told the SoftBank Group chief he didn’t need the cash because his company had already raised $10 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. Fine, Son said, then suggested he might direct his support to one of Didi’s rivals. Cheng relented and took the investment: $5 billion in the largest fundraising round ever for a tech startup.

Son pulled a similar maneuver in November, publicly warning Uber Technologies that if he didn’t get the deal he wanted, his backing would go to archrival Lyft. Uber also took the money in a $9 billion investment unveiled last week.

Masayoshi Son has been an unstoppable force in the technology world over the last year. As he lined up a roster of big backersSaudi Arabia’s crown prince and Apple’s Tim Cook among themfor SoftBank’s planned $100 billion Vision Fund, Son took stakes in scores of businesses engaged in a dizzying array of activities: ride-hailing, chip-making, office-sharing, satellite-building, robot-making, even indoor kale-farming.

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Half an hour into 2018, NBC News anchor Hoda Kotb tweeted three words, three hearts and an image containing three more words that neatly distilled how a lot of people have been feeling lately: “never look back.”

She could have used different words (e.g., “Fuck you, 2017!”), but Hoda Kotb is much too nice a person to be so blunt.

And then this morning, this happened:

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The extended deadline to enter Ad Age’s Agency A-List is fast approaching: Time runs out January 4 at 5 p.m. EST.

The original deadline was extended from December 20 to January 4, part of our grand plan to let entrants relax as the new year began, knowing that their entries were complete and safely in our judges’ hands. And we were determined not to extend. But so many people requested more time for one compelling reason or another that we gave in.

Here’s a guide to entering the 2018 A-List & Creativity Awards right nowbefore time really runs out. Enter here.

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Boots has launched a year-long wellbeing-themed campaign, “Little Boost”, to assist consumers’ “holistic health” throughout 2018.

Mr. Paul, 22, posted a video that showed a body hanging from a tree in a Japanese forest that is known as a destination for suicide victims.

(TrendHunter.com) The Millennial parent is at the heart of the heart of many 2018 life stages trends, as they are the consumers of many innovative products and services for themselves, their children and their aging…

(TrendHunter.com) These 2017 jewelry trends range from romantic wood earrings to crystal aromatherapy necklaces that promote a sense of mindfulness and well-being. While e-commerce brand LOÉIL’s wooden heart…

Harold, Kumar, Cheech, Chong, Snoop Dogg, those hapless dudes from Pineapple Express. These famous folks, both real and cinematic, are out and proud pot smokers. But what about your neighbor, your co-worker, your grandma? MedMen, the largest retailer of legal marijuana in Southern California, aims to show the breadth of modern cannabis customers with its…

The holidays are over, and now the hard part begins for nonprofits and charity organizations in need of volunteers. In a New Year’s push, State Farm makes the case that January ushers in a difficult time for such organizations, which see a dramatic drop off in participation after the new year rolls around.

The ad is for the company’s Neighborhood of Good platform, which shows volunteer opportunities by zip code, and which the Bloomington, Illinois-based insurer debuted in March. Called “Don’t You,” it’s designed to encourage viewers to renew their charity-focused efforts. The 60-second commercial shows a soup kitchen bustling with holiday cheer, plentiful plates and lots of help as a man sings “Don’t You Forget About Me” on a piano. As he sings, the scene shifts to one after New Year’s. The differences are stark: tables are empty of food, few volunteers are present and the those in need of help appear disheartened. “The season of giving ends, but the need remains,” reads text at the end of the spot.

The giving platform’s first ad, “The Following,” which ran in March, was a two-minute film about a man who finds peace from the world’s more horrific headlines by volunteering. NeighborhoodofGood.com has received approximately a million visitors to date, according to Rand Harbert, chief agency, sales and marketing officer at 96-year-old company, including a spike of visitors around the time of the hurricanes in Texas and Florida earlier this year.

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Hyundai is hosting a number of interactive spaces and showcasing its car models at Super Bowl LII, the National Football League (NFL) finale, taking place in Minnesota.