A new direction for our weekly news round-up includes some of the hottest stories from the creative industries...

Super Bowl LII Ad Tracker helps you keep on top of this year's biggest commercials

Ad breaks are equally important as the on-field action when it comes to the Super Bowl. So, to ensure you don't miss any of this year's biggest and best commercials, take a look at Adweek's Super Bowl LII Ad Tracker.

Broadcaster NBC has reportedly been asking for more than US$5 million for a 30-second spot this year. Between the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics, it expects to generate over US$1 billion in ad sales.

Several commercials set to feature are already available to watch online, including efforts from Budweiser, Amazon, and M&Ms.

Instagram is bringing ‘Carousel Ads’ to Stories

Instagram has announced that its new feature 'Carousel Ads' will allow brands to have up to three pieces of media per Stories ad.

"Carousel Ads for Instagram Stories behave the same way as other Stories content, meaning you can tap through, swipe back and forth or pause the content whenever you'd like," the Instagram Business Team said in a blog.

Brands that have already experimented with longer Stories ads during rollout include Gap, Netflix, and Paramount.  

QANTAS launches new safety video featuring the 'spirit' of Australia all over the world

QANTAS has fully embraced its 'Spirit of Australia' slogan with a new safety video featuring typical Aussie humour all over the world.

In between explaining important safety information, Australians can be seen playing cricket on a rooftop in Tokyo, eating Tim Tams in Johannesburg, and drinking flat whites in London.

"The primary purpose of these videos is to communicate an important safety message, and we know from our previous efforts that beautiful locations with a touch of humour is a great way to get people's attention each time they fly," QANTAS International CEO Alison Webster said.

ActionFX Builder promises an easier way to add cartoon FX in After Effects

ActionFX Builder is a free plugin for Adobe After Effects that enables you to make cartoon-like fire, water, smoke explosions, and electricity effects.

It’s possible to edit and customise your selection through inbuilt controls with eight 2D animation categories spanning more than 100 cartoon effects.  

ActionFX Builder is part of a wider Motion Factory extension, which also features Particle Builder and Type Builder.