Never let it be said that Cream is slow to spot a trend. A few weeks ago we brought you dogs with dentures, dogs driving a Subaru, and a loopy idea in Belgium that saw dogs disguised as lions. But it looks like the canine advertising bubble might have burst. After Frank the sheep helped Tele2 to success in the Festival of Media Awards, sheep are the new kids on the advertising block.

While the case continues to be made for a "Best use of animals and livestock" award at next year's festival, enjoy this promotional video from Finisterre - a UK west country surf shop, in which they promote a new range of wool-based wet suits.

It's only a matter of time before Red Bull strap a sheep into a branded jump suit and put it into space. 

Ice cream and sunburn are two of the constants that make a summer (at least a British summer). Others include grown adults clomping about under the misguided belief that it is acceptable to wear Crocs and the realisation that making out in the sand has all of the glamour and sex appeal of foreplay in the compost heap.

In recognition of the first two, Nestle and JWT in Johannesburg have teamed up to create a hat made out of ice cream sticks. It might look more at home in a rice paddy than on a beach in Cape Town, but it will certainly protect your face from sunburn and the shame of having consumed 300 chocolate Maxibon.

Outside of Cream Towers the alarmingly large face of Mr Cameron has been beaming away at us since January. Perhaps Big Dave is watching. This doesn't have much to do with the following blog post, but it's something that I've wanted to get out of my system for sometime. 

Back to business then, and it's a well proven fact that you can tell a lot about people from the way they decorate their kitchens. I've been to some of the most sophisticated house parties in London, and invariably I find myself in the kitchen. A quick root around the contents of a  fridge can reveal previously hidden insights into the character and lifestyle of your host. 

IKEA have taken this one stage further, and in the light of election fever that frankly seems to be missing the UK by a country mile (despite the best efforts broadcasters, Nick Clegg and the tabloid press), you can now express your political sympathies through your choice of kitchen. 

Now at house parties and dinner engagements you will be able to make instant judgements about your host from their choice of kitchen. Personally I preferred my fridge technique, but you've got to appreciate a timely bit of bandwagon jumping. 

Fans of Big Dave can now serve their smoke salmon canapes and brown windsor soup in their "Kamerun". Pop trivia and soap fans will be pleased to see Patsy Kensit on the wall in Kamerun kitchen. It's nice to see she's getting work.

Labour supporters have a typically austere kitchen, with red highlights. And probably coal in the cupboards.

And let's not forget Nick Clegg. He's the one that looks like David Cameron, only with Vince Cable on his arm.

There is much to be said about brands becoming patrons of the arts. Where once you might have a rich benefactor sponsoring an artist or a poet, these days you are more likely to see a telecoms company fund a music tour or a bank sponsor an art exhibition. Luxury Italian fashion brand Fendi is flexing its fashion-forward muscles with an exhibition during Milan Design Week. In a bid to highlight its appreciation of craftmanship and new technology, Fendi teamed up with Design Miami to commission a series of interactive installations. Four pieces were showcased, including an anamorophic perspective painting, a theatre box scaffolding sructure and a psychadelic black and white playground. The final piece was by design collective rAndom International and featured an interactive, sound-reactive LED wall.

Check out the mesmerising video of the piece, called Amplitude:

Amplitude from rAndom International on Vimeo.

The News:

To promote edgy Devassa blond beer ("devassa" means "naughty" in Portuguese), the brand convinced Paris Hilton to be videoed partying non-stop for three weeks in Brazil.

Daily Youtube uploads got an enthusiastic following, and the event was amplified by media coverage of her more unguarded moments.

Devassa went on to produce a sultry TV commercial, with Paris in a short black dress, sensually rubbing a can of Devassa beer on herself, delighting onlookers who watch through her apartment window.

Behind the News:

While Brazil is known for its overt display of postage-stamp size bikini's beaches, Devassa's portrayal of a non Brazilian blond who is not on a beach, while relatively tame, broke cultural codes - and a local law which forbids associating beer with sensuality.

Actually many Brazilian beer ads feature woman in bikini, but they are always set on the beach. Brazil's secretariat for Women's Affair said 'It's an ad that devalues women-in particular, blond women. The problem is not a lack of clothing, but its sensual nature."

The controversial buzz plays nicely into the brand's goal of establishing itself as the naughty anti-establishment beer.

Wimpy in South Africa taps into the South African family community spirit - not to mention a love of Lycra and shoulder pads  - in its latest music based viral. The ad features a seven family member strong band performing 'Funky Town' on free promotional glasses.

As a gift to those who made it to Valencia, the Festival of Media team created T-shirts which read: "I got there!".

Ex-Labour politician, sometime prolific author and staunch Marxist Tony Benn (a living British institution) once said... 

"If you meet a powerful person--ask them five questions: "What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable? And how can we get rid of you?" 

I think we can apply the same to brands. 

In an age of consumer and personal empowerment, it is good for brands to be reminded that their power comes not from advertising (which is temporary and rented power) but from their consumers and their employees. 

Without them, what have you got?