Studies have shown that domestic violence against women increases during the holiday season, sometimes by as much as 30%. To help spread this staggering statistic, The Ontario Association of Interval & Transition Houses (OAITH) and Yellow Brick House, an OAITH member shelter in Toronto that provides a safe haven for women and children escaping domestic violence, launched "The Window Project." What looks like an idyllic Christmas scene inside one house is anything but. A family of four sit at the dinner table when suddenly Dad hits Mom and the kids hide their eyes. Passersby can stop …

Powerade launched a gritty, true-story ad as part of its "Just a Kid" campaign. "Churn" is a 60-second spot that stars Jimmy Graham, football player for the Seattle Seahawks, and portrays his rough upbringing in North Carolina. Graham was just a kid living in a state-run group home, where he was surrounded by violence and intimidation.  As viewers see Graham adjusting to this life, a voiceover tells the story of a mouse trapped in a bucket of cream. Easiest thing for the mouse would be to give up and drown, but instead he fights, turns cream …

Every great quality found in any of Michelin's tires joins a large "Parade" celebrating the brand in a 60-second ad created by TBWA\Paris. Animals representing Michelin tire qualities include an octopus for its grip, a rhino for its robustness and a snake for sleek handling. There are also pillows and clouds to represent comfort, along with piggy banks and gas station pumps to celebrate fuel savings. At the front of the parade line is none other than the Michelin Man, proudly waving his "Total Performance" flag. This global campaign is running in China and Europe.

Hearts on Fire diamonds launched a 60-second spot that doesn't feature any women in wedding dresses or men on bended knee. "Ignite Something" aims to change the way consumers relate to diamond jewelry. When I first watched the ad, I thought it was advertising a car. There's a couple running in the desert, feathers from a pillow fight, dust in the air from a speeding car, a woman walking on stage, and fireworks. All the while, a voiceover encourages viewers to ignite something, whether it's an adventure, a firecracker, joy, …

Random App of the week: Like coffee and surprises? Check out the launch of The Black Box from Angels' Cup, which offers java drinkers a mystery package of four coffee samples delivered to your house. The goal:educating coffee lovers and newbies about coffee from different locales and different roasting methods. Customers pay $19.99 for four 2.75-ounce "blind" coffee samples. Users taste the mystery coffee, take notes, and then enter a code into the Angels' Cup app to compare notes with the Angels' Cup "roastmaster." Once entered, customers can find out what the coffee really was …

Emotional Christmas ads. Ignite something. Let's launch!

Lenovo's Christmas ad features a tech-savvy young girl with a generous heart who helps someone less fortunate during the holiday season. In the 60-second ad, a homeless man is seen carving a dog out of wood. Handfuls of pedestrians walk past him but never pay attention to him or make eye contact, except for one young girl. The pair lock eyes and the man gives the carved dog to the young girl, whose mother quickly whisks her away. Fast-forward a few days and the homeless man is asleep on the sidewalk when the young girl returns …

Toys "R" Us features a single toy in its emotional Christmas ad, which leads a young boy to the gift he really wanted for Christmas: his mom. The spot begins with a father and son preparing for the holiday by making a gingerbread house, waiting in line for Santa and decorating their tree. Dad is shown shopping for a remote control vehicle, which plays a big role late in the ad. On Christmas morning, as the unwraps a non-toy gift, the remote-controlled car appears and beckons the boy to the front door, where his military-serving mother …

Ty Inc, maker of Beanie Babies, launched its first TV spot on Black Friday to promote "Peek-A-Boos," plush animals that hold a tween's mobile device. The cuddly animals are soft, cute and keep phones in place while kids play a game, watch a movie or FaceTime someone.  Perhaps they will also help with text neck? The ad follows a bunch of cute kids from the time they wake up until it's time for bed. One girl starts her day bygrabbing her phone from her nightstand; another girl has her animal and phone propped in her locker …

MTV's Staying Alive Foundation launched a NSFW campaign on World AIDS Day to get teens to think about condoms. The video speaks the language of teens by using sexting emojis having sexy-time to illustrate the importance of condoms. "Sext Life" shows potentially X-rated situations had they not been acted out by emoji pairs, like banana and donut, eggplant and peach, and pointer finger and OK sign. The pairs are then joined by a wrapped condom and the tagline: "Make foreplay a threesome. Add a condom." See it here, created by Y&R New York …