SYDNEY, Tuesday: DDB New Zealand, with 21 finalists, is the leading Kiwi agency list through at the shortlist stage of the 40th AWARD Awards – dominated, naturally, by Aussie shops.

AUCKLAND, Today: A playful take on reminding Kiwis that genius is everywhere, within all of us, is at the heart of the new brand campaign for Chorus, launched this morning by Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand.

AUCKLAND, Today: One’s Marae programme has a question to answer: Were the Maori pronunciation tests that their camera crew conducted on Ponsonby Rd last week deliberately edited to produce a result that downplayed Pakehas’ skills with the language?

AUCKLAND, Today: Globally successful dining-membership programme Zomato Gold has launched in New Zealand with a wryly straight-talking creative campaign Be More Social from J Walter Thompson and a media schedule from Mindshare that aims to tap into Kiwis’ increasing appetite for dining out.

WELLINGTON, Yesterday: FCB New Zealand has been awarded the creative business for WorkSafe New Zealand after a pitch process conducted in Wellington. The new partners chose not to identify the incumbent, but M+AD can reveal it was Assignment.

SINGAPORE, Tuesday: Tangrams, Apac’s largest strategy & effectiveness awards, has announced the alignment of its key awards dates with those of the Spikes Asia this year.

AUCKLAND, Yesterday: Exhibition giant Val Morgan reports that the Marvel series of movies is proving to be a winning formula when it comes to box office success. Marvel has become one of the biggest pop culture influences in the past decade and the results are showing.

LONDON, Monday: PHD Auckland’s DB Export Beer Bottle Sand has been declared the top-placed work from Asia Pacific in the Warc Media 100 Awards (formerly the Gunn Media 100).

AUCKLAND, Saturday: M+AD ed David Gapes, and recently appointed deputy ed Scott Pryor, fought out the finals of the 2019 Ponsonby Masters snooker tournament, held at the National Snooker & Billiards Centre in Royal Oak. Pryor won.