-L.A./SF/NY-based visual studio Ntropic has tapped former twofifteenmccann director of integrated production, Tom Wright, to serve as its managing director, North America.

-San Francisco-born/now New York-based Shmaltz Brewing Company, which produces craft beers including Coney Island Craft Lagers and He’Brew, has formed its first formal agency relationship–minus a review–with fellow Big Apple operation, Launchpad. Among other things, the latter will handle package design, a new site and other online initiatives for the brand.

-MEC has appointed Jude Ryan as senior partner, lead statistical methods in its North American Analytics & Insights practice.

-CannesAlso, which explores what creatives do outside of their day jobs (and has been a fave topic on this here site) returns for its third year. link

-According to Wired, Apple is now getting “spanked” by Samsung. link

-Vogue goes behind the scenes of Beyonce‘s new H&M commercial, which as stated by others, is essentially just one long music video. link

-Online discount luxury fashion retailer The Outnet has appointed We Are Social as its global social media AOR.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

7.This is an ad from Sprite that focuses on a guy’s netherlandparts. There’s nothing that can be said. Nothing. Except how does this have 534 views y’all? Help this little guy get the recognition his balls deserve.

6. Artists, here’s a thing you can get behind. A film about an ad exec who can only speak in slogans. It’s like how we all complain about FUCKING JARGON all the time but like then go into a meeting and all you say is these words: engaging, KPI, Vine, aspirational, suck it. Super serial though, this looks good. 11.2k views though? Weaksauce.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Who is your favorite Beyonce? Is it “Bootylicious” Beyonce? Sasha Fierce? “Crazy in Love” Beyonce? There’s always the more traditional millionaire mogul/super-duper female role model Bey, the one who signed the Pepsi endorsement deal that brought us to this point. In “Mirrors,” which comes to us from 180 LA and features Mrs. Carter’s track, “Grown Woman,” you don’t have to choose a favorite Beyonce, because they are all there for you to admire. The 60-second spot is part of Pepsi’s “Live for Now” campaign.

I’m not sure what Beyonce or Pepsi has to do with the idea of living for now. And Coke tastes much better, had to throw that in there. But Pepsi has been making strides in the music industry, helping to brand popular and upcoming artists to enormous audiences. This spot evokes the Gatorade “Who Got Next” commercial from a few years ago with Michael Jordan playing one-on-one against earlier versions of himself. That was clever and made sense with the brand; this doesn’t, but it’s Beyonce, so everyone will gawk at her on YouTube or their television screens. Maybe they should. #BeyHereNow.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

-Who are the most creative women in advertising? Business Insider would like to know. link

-Complex lists its 25 things that need to be retired from 2012. link

-In the wake of announcing its much-maligned new terms of service, Instagram has reportedly lost nearly a quarter of its daily active users. link

-A little late, but what the hell. Let’s let the folks at Chicago-based, WPP-owned Designkitchen wish everyone happy holidays with the help of a Kinect, a few Arduinos, several relay switches and thousands of lights (above).

-Could JCPenney, Mitsubishi and Martha Stewart Living all disappear next year? link

-Pepsi and its new global brand ambassador, Beyonce, are launching a photo contest tomorrow that will let 100 fans join her on stage during her halftime performance at the Super Bowl on Feb 3. Um, yay? link

-iMedia Connection offers its own 13 ad predictions for 2013. link

Just a heads up that we’ll be back live and ready to roll on Wednesday, Jan. 2. Wishing you and yours a safe and happy New Year’s. See you on the other side.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Around midnight EST tomorrow, those within view of a television will watch a giant glowing ball shimmy slowly down a pole, ushering in 2012 AD (CE if you want to get weird about it). Some will cheer, some will toast, some will mumble made-up lyrics to “Auld Lang Syne,” and many will grab a significant other or stranger and engage them in a full-on lip-lock. Each of these, the last especially, is unavoidable. Why? Because it is tradition, so deal with it.

So, what better time for gay social network site Manhunt to drum up some publicity by placing the above billboard in Times Square? Located at the corner of Broadway and 47th Street, Manhunt’s billboard, which will be up through Jan. 6, was described to us in an email as “raising some eyebrows” and featuring “two sweaty guys in dog tags about to make out.” In the days since the “Zero Feet Away” campaign rolled out, it’s already greatly offended one L.A. mom, despite the fact that a similar Michael Kors billboard (depicting a woman placing her hand inside a man’s briefs) has been the subject of no such controversy. Most curiously will be how much (if any) airtime the Manhunt ad gets during the broadcast of ABC’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” where the American public will be subjected to performances by Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, and (new mother?) Beyonce.

Thanks for tuning in this year, spies, and let’s look forward to these final few months as we plunge headlong into the Apocalypse. Have an awesome New Year’s Eve, click here for the actual lyrics to “Auld Lang Syne,” and watch Mariah Carey do whatever it is she does below.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

In a spooktacular, ghoulicious episode of “5 Things You Need to Know This Week,” we count down our five favorite Halloween costumes. With special appearances by Beyoncé, Blake Lively, Brian Williams, and Brian Williams.

For more videos, check out Mediabistro.tv, and be sure to follow us on Twitter: @mediabistroTV

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.