IKEA, The Life Improvement Store, announced the grand prize winner of the second year of its Life Improvement Sabbatical Contest: Melissa Matthews of Wake Forest, NC. After a month-long, online public vote, Ms. Matthews has won a year-long sabbatical (worth $100,000) to improve the lives of others through her Special Technology for Special Kids! program, and over the next year, will share her experience online at www.thelifeimprovementproject.com. Additionally, IKEA is donating $50,000 to Save the Children’s U.S. Programs, $1 for every vote cast in the contest (up to the first 50,000 votes—the program received a total of 50,191 votes).

Coffee brands are working hard to turn the Chinese into the coffee-drinking nation, using the traditional western stories with strong rebellious characters for their advertising campaigns. One of the strongest players on the coffee market, Nescafé, has tapped Chinese professional rally driver, blogger, best-selling author, singer Han Han to front its recent campaign ‘Live Out Your Boldness’ by Publicis Nestle Team Beijing, in which the 29-year old man is living his life to the full and never misses an opportunity to experience something new, with no boundaries or restrictions (of course, nothing illegal).    

YouTube has announced it will launch an online film festival logically entitled Your Film Festival that will take submissions of short films up to 15 minutes in length between February 2 and March 31. Fifty semi-finalists will be selected by Scott Free Productions, Ridley and Tony Scott’s production company. Then, 10 finalists will be chosen to go to the Venice Film Festival in August.

Bacardi Limited has announced the 2012 to be its most innovative year since the creation of its famous rum in 1862. Throughout the year, Bacardi will host birthday parties and launch special promotions featuring 100 years of its advertising. The company will also introduce a $2,000 limited-edition decanter of rare Bacardi rum, offer fans travel retail exclusives and commemorative gifts.

The fashion giant Armani has extended its collaboration with Rihanna, started last year—in fall 2011, the brand launched the campaign for Armani Jeans and Emporio Armani Underwear featuring popstar from Barbados, who was also engaged in the creation of the new clothing items. In the previous promotion, the celebrity had a blonde pixie haircut, and now, for the new campaign she now has turned into a brunette and looks like a modern rock diva—the photos of the new 2012 Spring/Summer collections of the Armani’s both labels.