Hasta La Creative!

If you missed SXSW Interactive this year, you can experience it Cliff Notes-style with sketch notes from Mike Rohde.

Chimpanzees are not exactly the unsung heroes of advertising; in fact, they’re quite sung, having starred in splashy, successful Super Bowl campaigns from E*Trade to CareerBuilder. (Pictured is Jonah the E*Trade chimp, photographed during a long-ago visit to Adweek.) But now one zoologist is calling for a chimp-ad moratorium, arguing that making chimps wear funny hats and dance around for the camera isn’t good for their image. “When chimpanzees are portrayed as caricatures of humans, dressed up in silly outfits and so on, people think that chimps aren’t endangered, aren’t worthy of our conservation efforts,” says Steve Ross of Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo. “There’s probably effects we don’t even imagine when people are watching these [ads] and laughing.” We fully support Ross’s efforts, and advise you not to watch this British tea commercial with chimps doing a James Bond spoof, this Bud Light spot with the talking chimp, and especially not this Arby’s ad with chimps doing Riverdance. And if you watch, please don’t laugh.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

LONDON – Luke Johnson, chairman of Channel 4, and Andy Duncan, the channel’s chief executive, are to give evidence to a House of Lords’ enquiry into broadcasters’ news provision.

To celebrate the birth of four distinct company arms (with four unique specializations), The CementWorks launched a baby shower campaign for quadruplets. Watch the intro on their website — very cute.

Other keynotes during ad:tech San Francisco, which is held April 15-7 at the Moscone Center, include NBC Universal Chief Digital Officer George Kliavkoff< who will talk about how NBC is taking NBC's programming digital through the company's just launched Hulu (which rocks, by the way) and other outlets.

LONDON – Costcutter has appointed former Interflora communications executive Jill Morris to the newly created role of head of marketing.

London – Asda has called for the government to reduce taxes on 100% fruit juices, claiming they penalise those looking for a healthy drink option.

(TrendHunter.com) VIP Fibers is a company offering the ultimate service for pet lovers. I’m talking series animal freaks.

The next time your doggy goes for a trim or you decide to shear your cat (just keep the fur on the head for a nice lion effect), keep the leftover fur and send it in to VIP Fibers and they’ll spi…

(TrendHunter.com) If you or someone you know have a hard time remembering when to take your meds, the MagneTrace necklace is sure to be a great use to many.

According to Georgia Tech, “The necklace, called MagneTrace, contains an array of magnetic sensors that could be used to detect when specially-designed medica…

(TrendHunter.com) An Australian tampon company has pushed the boundaries of advertising, with a television campaign showing an attractive, young woman and her pet beaver eating lunch, having their nails done, at the hairdresser, and being gawked at by men on a beach. The ad ends with a voice-over, “You’ve only got on…