SPARK: The latest digital trends and unique thinking

THE LINGERIE HOLOGRAM

French underwear corseter Empriente have opened their first concept store in Paris, l’Atelier lingerie, with an after hours 3D hologram broadcast in their shop windows. A holographic mannequin wearing l’Atelier lingerie appeared after 9 pm each night between May 23 and May 26, animating the window before disappearing in a shower of stars.

THE CENSORSHIP GAMES: CHINESE TWITTER WILL SCORE USER BEHAVIOUR

China’s top microblogging site, Sino Weibo, has introduced a points-based system for its Twitter-style service — one that penalizes users for posting controversial content. It’s part of a continuing effort to keep anti-government sentiment on the platform to a minimum. Users will initially be granted 80 points. Their score will waver depending on their activity and the type of content they post. Points are gained by taking part in community-based activities, while users lose points for various breaches of conduct, including “harming the unity, sovereignty or territorial integrity of the nation.” A low score can be revived by avoiding violations for two months.

ORCA CHEVROLET: RESCUE DRIVE

Orca Chevrolet is promoting the new Chevrolet Cobalt in Brasila with the Rescue Drive (Resgate Drive), a cunning plan designed to lift the spirits of people who have broken down. In a partnership with a tow car company, the new car was taken to the public right in that moment when they’re thinking at the most about changing their old car: when it breaks down. When the tow car was called for, the Chevrolet Cobalt came along and was introduced to whoever had made the call. From that point on, the consumer was invited to take a test-drive to achieve his or her destination driving a brand new car. Orca Chevrolet was able to transform an uncomfortable moment into a carefree and pleasant moment for everyone who participated.

WHY CLAY SHIRKY IS RIGHT AND WARREN BUFFET IS WRONG

There’s been a lot of attention focused on billionaire Warren Buffett’s recent $142 million purchase of Media General and its 63 newspapers, and that’s not at all surprising, since he seems to be the only one interested in buying newspapers rather than selling or closing them. But is his acquisition a brilliant financial gamble, or an indication of his faith in the long-term prospects of printed community newspapers? Media theorist and author Clay Shirky argues that it is neither: in fact, he says, Buffett misunderstands some fundamental things about the business he is buying into and is therefore taking on a much bigger challenge than he probably realizes.

RUGBEER: TACKLE THE VENDING MACHINE

Here’s a great installation from Argentinean beer brand ‘Cerveza Salta’. Argentina is a country renowned for having the most football fans in the world, but in the Northern Salta province, the New Zealand equivalent of Argentina, people love rugby. Salta Beer wanted to create a campaign that targeted this rugby loving region and what better way to engage them than creating a tackle machine and placing it in bars! ‘Rugbeer’ also just happens to be a tackle machine with a difference, it’s actually a vending machine, that challenges rugby fans tackle it in order to release a cold Salta Beer. Rugbeer was so successful that it toured the region, leading to 25% more beers sales in the bars that it visited.

LIVE LIP-DUB MARRIAGE PROPOSAL

If there was one way to propose to your long-time girlfriend, then this "live lip-dub" proposal tops the list. The most popular comment on an epic marriage proposal published onto YouTube reads, “So Issac… how does winning the Internet feel?” And win it he does. Countless marriage proposals have been posted online but this one makes it to the top of the list.

GETTY IMAGES: THE WATERMARK PROJECT

How do you change perception of a billion dollar company? Not with advertising but by changing the very interface that made them less than popular in the first place. By changing their product. This is the first work that R/GA London has done for one of its newest clients, Getty Images and it’s really very good.

FACEBOOK HOPES TO RELEASE A SMART PHONE BY NEXT YEAR

Facebook is expanding its efforts to create a smartphone and aims to release one by next year, The New York Times reports. According to the Times, Facebook employees, engineers, and others familiar with the matter say that the company has added to the group working on the project, code named ‘Buffy’ and that it has hired "more than half a dozen former Apple software and hardware engineers who worked on the iPhone, and one who worked on the iPad." The report quotes one Facebook employee who says that Mark Zuckerberg "is worried that if he doesn't create a mobile phone in the near future that Facebook will simply become an app on other mobile platforms."

PHILIPS ‘AUGMENTED’ REALITY MUGS

Facial hair may be all the rage in the West but in Taiwan, most men prefer the clean-shaven look, which is fine unless you’re promoting the Philips grooming kits, in which case you have to ask - how do you interest the hairless in the art of facial hair? This is genius with no apps, devices or internet involved, just a good old fashioned cup of tea.

JOHN MALKOVICH HAS HEART-TO-HEARTS WITH SIRI

John Malkovich stars in two new 30-second TV spots for the Apple iPhone 4S which show him sitting talking to virtual assistant Siri. The “Life” ad sees him getting philosophical and being impressed with the answer Siri gives him, while in “Joke” he is planning a night out and asks Siri to tell him a joke.

THE GOOLE BOOK: A VISUAL DICTIONARY

Using Google Images and 21,000 words from your run-of-the-mill English dictionary, UK artists Felix Heyes and Ben West have created a 1,240-page visual dictionary, aptly titled Google. To create the book, a pair of PHP scripts downloaded the first image for each word from Google's service, placed theminto a three-column layout, and exported the final product as a series of PDF files. West describes the hand-bound book as "an unfiltered, uncritical record of the state of human culture in 2012," in which about half of the images are "revolting medical photos, porn, racism or bad cartoons".

AUGMENTED REALITY BAND AIDS HELP TO ENTERTAIN THE PAIN AWAY

Thanks to a new augmented reality app from Johnson & Johnson, Muppet branded Band-Aids can now function essentially like QR codes, letting animated Muppet characters talk to you from wherever you've placed the Band-Aid. Here's how it works: Open the Band-Aid Magic Vision app on your phone, and point the phone at the Band-Aid. Then look at the screen and you'll see an animated Kermit The Frog appear to be swinging over the bandaged boo-boo singing "The Rainbow Connection," or an animated Miss Piggy asking you to take her picture, or Gonzo engaging in an ill-planned death-defying feat.

The free app works with any of the six large Muppet branded Band-Aids that are widely sold in stores. The Band-Aids sell for a couple of bucks and change for a box of 20.