Since its launch a few weeks ago, our smart Brabus ‘customise’ site has proved popular with consumers and the website design community alike.

Last week, the Design Charts had it as a brand new entry straight in at no.2 on their list.

We’d love to see what their customised smart Brabus looks like. Bet it’s nice.

Our creative director has been busy finishing off the judging for finalist, bronze, silver and gold awards in the NY Festivals, and an interesting bunch they were too.

Everything from Japanese pop culture for Nikon, which used a projector feature on a digital camera to unusual effect. To the wonderfully-executed calendar for Uniqlo.

There was also the ‘thinking inside the box‘ concept for a Canadian start-up agency. And last, but not least, the extremely hard-hitting and well-cast film for Leicester NHS, to raise awareness of teenage pregnancy.

We always enjoy seeing what the Site of the Day is on Design Licks, so we were pleasantly surprised to find that two of our own pieces of work had achieved it during the last week.

One is for smart Brabus, which is so customisable that we thought it would be nice to let people customise the actual website itself.

The other is for the new E-Class Cabriolet which features Aircap technology that deflects wind and turbulence over the top of the cabin. The idea here is that users can switch the Aircap button on or off, and see the effect is has on all the copy content.

We’re thrilled that our London Fashion Week microsite for Mercedes-Benz has scooped top spot at this month’s IAB Creative Showcase.

The judges praised the way ‘The Mercedes work makes sense of the relationship between cars and fashion’. A massive mwah mwah daaahlings to all the Weapon7 fashionistas involved.

Visit the Creative Showcase winner’s page here.

Here’s an interesting piece on the user journey by Atlanta agency Neboweb. They believe that for a brand to offer a truly rewarding experience, it should be about the journey and not just the destination. And that you don’t necessarily need big cash prizes to inspire people to engage, when a little invention or wit will make the journey worthwhile.

We agree wholeheartedly. But that’s hardly a surprise, considering Neboweb have used our recent ‘Code of Conviction’ work as a case study.

Read it here.

*Ralph Waldo Emerson

We’re partnering with Proximity to deliver TV Licensing direct marketing.

Expect more details over the coming weeks and months, as we focus on driving further the migration to digital channels.

Watch this space!

Every two weeks, someone at Weapon7 gives a random act of presentation to the agency about something they love.

This week it was James Westlake and his unquenchable enjoyment of Nordic Skiing. We found out about the technique, pain, exhilaration, tribal kinsmanship and sheer gun-toting danger involved in this shadowy sport.

Not to mention the haute couture, as demonstrated by James and his moustache in this photograph.

The new smart Brabus is all about personalisation. You can choose whichever colour and spec you want to really make it your own - everything from body panels and upholstery to stitching.

We’re really excited about our new integrated launch campaign, which includes lenticular POS, DM with removeable colour pages, a multi-fold magazine insert, and a website and online ads which run live, real-time user customisations.

We will have a case study soon! For now, why not have a play with the website and tailor make your own Brabus.

To mark the hectic and productive start to 2010, we enjoyed a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party on Thursday night.

The term ‘mad as a hatter’ derives from the fact that mercury was originally used in the making of hats. This was known to have affected the nervous systems of hatters, causing them to tremble and appear insane.

That said, many managed to achieve much the same effect courtesy of several teapots full of cocktails.

Is it true or are the reports exaggerated?

CEO Steven Hess contributes to this insightful article written by journalist Kunal Dutta for Marketing Magazine.

There is no doubt that the internet has changed and evolved marketing, but what might the future hold?

Read the article here.

As well as many superior design touches, the new E-Class Cabriolet features Aircap technology which directs airflow above the passengers, reducing turbulence and noise.

We brought this feature to life with a wide integrated campaign, including point-of-sale, direct mail, email, online advertising and a website that acts as a central hub for all the campaign elements.

Please check back soonish to catch a case study in the Our Work section. In the meantime, you can view the website here.

Our CD was helping out with some jury service for the New York Festivals recently.

Among the noteworthy entries were an interesting ambient piece for Germany’s equivalent of the Big Issue, a real-time online ad which became a discussion forum about the news content it ran next to, and a simple idea for a calendar to promote a brand of knife.

Then there were the bizarre houseflies that were mollycoddled into carrying around ultra-light banners at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Let’s hope they didn’t carry around disease, too.