With less than a month left before the end of the world according to Mayan predictions, Old Spice launches a new online game which plays around the apocalypse theme. The brand presents the Dikembe Mutombo’s 4 1/2 Weeks to Save the World old-fashioned video game, which mirrors the philosophy of the Believe in Your Smellf campaign and Old Spice’s bold attitude, preserved by brand even in the toughest conditions.

This month sees the two biggest Russian financial companies — VTB Group and BinBank — to launch their new retail banking brands on the local market. While VTB’s Leto Bank is seen as a future leader of the mass retail lending with a developed chain of offices, Elixir has recently started operating in Moscow and St Petersburg as a virtual financial branch issuing credit cards for individuals online.

Ralph Lauren pays tribute to its own archives as well as to the rich history of the USA by launching a new destination, RL Vintage, where it unveils fashionable pieces drawn from the past. On the website, users can explore unique items to discover more about the story behind them, their origin and date of creation. Each season, Ralph Lauren will select different rare pieces from the House’s archives—the pieces will relate to some particular theme. The current range, The Western Collection, celebrates the history of the USA (some of the items are already sold out).

The article is written by Ted Mininni, President of Design Force, Inc., USA

Packaging has to deliver the brand and deliver positive consumer experiences. It can’t do that or sell the product unless it tells the brand story. Brands, licensed or not, have equitable assets that must be leveraged. It’s important to delve deeply into these properties to uncover both overt and hidden values to deliver the essence of the property.

After collaborating with Campari on the brand’s annual calendar, Penelope Cruz decided that she definitely needed some coffee to re-energize, so the Hollywood A-lister agreed to star in a new Nespresso USA TV ad. The brand from the Nestlé portfolio launched the first TV campaign by Interpublic’s Martin Agency in the USA earlier this year, and it hopes that the new phase featuring one of the hottest female celebrities will help it stand out this season. Until recently, the brand has been focused on the markets located outside the USA—in 2006, the brand launched a gorgeous campaign starring George Clooney, a true US man, to promote the capsules in Europe. Now, Nespresso has hired a non-American female to appeal to US consumers.

Heineken teamed up with LA-based retail store Union LA and fashion designer Mark McNairy to create a new stunning product as part of the ongoing creative “Heineken 100” project. Together they have created a new  kelly green colorway for McNairy’s classic saddle shoe as part of the program, which mission is to champion “Men of the World,” visionaries and tastemakers.

This holiday season, Gap is celebrating all forms of love, from sibling and modern love to married and self love to name but a few, by launching a new multi-platform marketing campaign titled “Love Comes In Every Shade” in the USA and Canada. The latest colourful marketing initiative from the brand features a roster of celebrity groups (mostly tandems), which represent all forms of one of the greatest feelings in our world. The brand also encourages its consumers to get engaged into the campaign by using the themed app and participating the holiday give-away.