CELEBS ATTACKING PAPS (PHOTO ESSAY – SUPERSUPER.COM 2012)

Even A-Listers have their limits.

NICOLAS CAGE: AN INTERNET TRIBUTE (DON’T PANIC 05.11.12)

You know him, you love him – and so does the Internet. Maybe a little too much.

Ah, Nicolas Cage – one of Hollywood’s biggest actors. Sure, you may have hated films like National Treasure and Ghost Rider (or God forbid, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin), but you have to admit that he’s a pretty big name in the silver screen game. However, as big an A-Lister as he is, few could have predicted the dizzying heights his fame would eventually soar to – and we’re not talking about small details like his legions of fans, a wealth of box-office hits or even that Academy Award he won either. No, where Nick C truly reigns supreme is in the acclaimed world of cult Internet superstardom. Here’s to you, Nick; the face that launched 1,000 memes.

PRODUCT PLACEMENT: BRITNEY x STARBUCKS

Brit-Brit sure digs them frappuccinos.

THE MOST TERRIFYING ADVERTS EVER (DON’T PANIC 24.10.12)

Creepy, unsettling and downright scary, we round up TV’s most frightening ad campaigns. Don’t say we didn’t warn you…

Okay, so we all know the basic idea behind an advert – to persuade the viewer to buy whatever product that’s being featured, right? It can be done in a variety of different ways, from having famous faces plug the merchandise, as Pepsi often do, or a sickly-sweet emotional appeal, like any John Lewis advert ever, to using a really (REALLY) annoying catchy jingle, à la Go Compare or We Buy Any Car – you name it, it’s been done.

But perhaps the most effective method – at least in terms of really having an impact on your audience – is to scare the bejesus out of people. Forget scary costumes, haunted houses or horror films; this Halloween, we guarantee it’s these truly terrifying adverts that are going to be giving you nightmares.

ART CLUB 2000 (LOGO.EC 21.10.12)

From the Warhol Pop explosion through to the YBAs, and even today’s rebloggable Tumblr iconography, branding and art have become ever more closely linked over the years – and nowhere is this better illustrated than back in 1993, when Art Club 2000 produced work based around their responses to the GAP brand.

NICHE DATING WEBSITES (DON’T PANIC 16.10.12)

Because there’s someone out there for every horse-loving, nappy-wearing, zombie-obsessed weirdo.

Hi, my name’s Charlotte, and I’m currently single. Now, single life is great – the freedom, the ability to watch whatever you want on Netflix without fear of recrimination, the embarrassing hook-ups (hey, at least you get some good stories to tell the next day) – but recently, something has changed. I’ve started to notice the none-too-subtle advertisements Facebook is slipping me every time I log on. In fact, looking at my news feed RIGHT NOW, there are no fewer than two ads for dating sites; one telling me I can ‘Date a Sexy Fireman’, and another starting off with the appealing catchphrase, ‘Mates all got boyfriends?’

Tempting as ads like these are, it did make me wonder: if sites specifically targeted at dating firemen have become a ‘thing’, what other obscure concepts are floating around the Internet? So began my weird and wonderful journey into niche dating websites…

UNLIKELY CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS (DON’T PANIC 15.10.12)

From Gorbachev’s pizzas to Snoop Dogg’s microwaved snacks, you can bet at least one agent got fired after these ridiculous ads came out.

It’s been an exciting week for bizarre celebrity endorsements. First up was Brad Pitt’s much-hyped Chanel No.5 ad, and now it’s come to our attention that Mr Snoop Lion (neé Dogg) himself has appeared in a commercial for America’s cholesterol-tastic Hot Pocket brand. Of course, Snoop and Brad aren’t the first celebrities to ever lend their famous faces to strange product campaigns – and they certainly won’t be the last.

YELLOWISM: INTERVIEW WITH THE ROTHKO VANDALS (DON’T PANIC 09.10.12)

We get an exclusive interview with the group who defaced a £50 million painting at the Tate Modern last week. A bold new artistic movement, or simply a publicity-seeking act of vandalism? We find out more.

Marcin Łodyga and Vladimir Umanets are the minds behind the emerging underground philosophy known as ‘Yellowism’. With a manifesto that states that Yellowism is ‘not art or anti-art’, the movement was relatively unknown until last week, when Vladimir was arrested for criminal damage, having defaced artist Mark Rothko’s famous mural Black on Maroon in the Tate Modern (pictured above, with Vladimir’s addition). Having (embarrassingly) hung the abstract expressionists’ work the wrong way round for years, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Tate Modern staff might be feeling somewhat cursed…

At the time of writing, Vladimir is still incarcerated, but we managed to track down co-founder Marcin to give us an exclusive interview on the stunt, as well as more on the pair’s decidedly unique ideas on art, exhibitions and the concept of reality.

JAPAN’S STRANGEST THEME RESTAURANTS (11.09.12)

Whether you fancy dining with cats, bio-engineered zombies or kawaii maids, you’ll never forget a meal at one of these unusual concept eateries.

Hey foodies, planning a trip to Japan any time soon? Well, even if you’re not, one look at the country’s strangest theme restaurants will make you wish you were. In a country known for its unique, intriguing and sometimes truly bizarre customs and trends, the recent rise in theme restaurants will come as no surprise to many. Taking an intensely creative approach to dining out, these restaurants are big on setting and atmosphere, transporting customers on mystical culinary adventures populated by monsters, robots or even, erm, a lot of cats.

ART: TOP TEN OLYMPICS STREET ART PIECES (DON’T PANIC 13.08.12)

London 2012 might be over – but that doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy some unsanctioned, un-LOCOG-approved Games-inspired street art.