Your Zone Friday: the Christmas List
Things we’ve done and things we like this week
The lights are up, the red cups are out and the Coca-Cola truck is making its cheery annual voyage across our screens – Christmas is officially coming. So this week YZF is making a list and checking it twice, to find out who's been naughty... but mainly nice.
Three things we've done
Hey Bale
More than a few footballers might be expecting to find lumps of coal in their stockings this year – but Gareth Bale's not one of them. BT Life's a Pitch caught up with the Spurs midfielder and PFA Player of the Year at Cardiff’s Winter Wonderland, to find out how he keeps his feet on the ground.
Fill your freezer
Our Channel 4Food team always like to stay ahead of the game (they've been tucking into Christmas food since July), so to help everyone else get organised they've created a page of make-ahead meals for the festive season. Cook them up now, fill your freezer, and enjoy a fuss-free Christmas – sorry Stacey Solomon, no bought-in buffets here.
Powered up
Zone's Jen, Jade, Rob and Gina met sports stars Richard Whitehead, Jess Ennis and Teddy Riner on the set of the new Powerade advertising campaign. One of the girls offered to do a few fast falls with Judo World Champion Teddy – but he declined.
Beardstrokable infogram
This week’s data makeover
We asked everyone to get out the Argos catalogue and a big red pen, and answer this question: what Christmas present did you always want… but never get? *sniff*
Zone hero of the week
The angel on top of Zone's tree this week is 4Food editor Amanda Nicolas, who was nominated for Editor of the Year at this week's APA International Content Marketing Awards. The achievement was super special, as it's the first time an exclusively online editor has made the shortlist.
Tea or coffee? "Just hot water with some milk, please." This unusual elixir is the secret source of all her power.
Movember moustaches
As Movember turns the corner onto its final hairy stretch, developer Tim Reed finds that people just aren't taking him seriously with his new face foliage. "It looks like a Sticklebrick," he says.
But aside from all the cash he's raised for charity, there is another bonus – the new look has given him exciting fancy dress options. "I've got a My Name Is Earl outfit to complement it," he's revealed. See if you can tell the difference.
‘I made this’
Zone staff share their creative moments
4Food's Celia has been getting crafty, and made this friendly dinosaur at the Les Ru dining experience – which was then replicated for her in food. All we want for Christmas now is a unicorn made of marshmallows.
NEWSFLASH!
It's been a starry couple of weeks for our sister agency Public Zone, who followed up their win at the BIMAs last week by scooping Best Digital Solution (charity/not-for-profit/public sector) at the APA International Content Marketing Awards on Wednesday night, with their MyFarm project for the National Trust. Top of their Christmas list, we presume, is a sturdy shelf to hold all their accolades.
Three things we like
The blog
Virality is dead: let's get emotional
Our information architect Paul McCormick blogs on his day at the Social Gaming Summit, and why brand integration is something to shout about (but not always in a good way).
The video
Oh deer, Benton
Filmed in Richmond Park by a passer-by, this video of Benton's hapless owner trying to stop his dog causing a deer stampede had Twitter in fits this week. #Benton was even the top trending topic in the UK on Tuesday morning – despite the dog's name, it turned out, actually being Fenton. That's viral for you.
The app
Flowers2Mail
Finally, for the truly lazy or forgetful, here's a way of sending flowers to a beloved that doesn't require you leaving the house – or parting with any cash. Though it should be said now, if YZF receives a virtual bunch of flowers from their office Secret Santa, there'll be trouble.
