Gary Goldsmith, former chairman/chief creative officer at Lowe, New York, is joining Young & Rubicam, New York, as chief creative officer….Michael Aimette has joined Atmosphere BBDO New York, as executive creative director, a new position at the shop….Greg Lane has come aboard GSD&M, Austin, Texas, as director of media production. He was previously a group executive producer at DDB Chicago….Rick Silvestrini is joining Grey Worldwide, New York, an associate producer. He was previously with McCann Erickson, New York….
Account Movement
Visa USA has moved its ad account to TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles, from BBDO New York….BMW has selected GSD&M, Austin, Texas, to handle its advertising account….DDB Chicago, has won ad duties on the LensCrafters account….Discover Financial Services and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, have split….Agency Gabriel deGrood Bendt will handle a creative assignment for a national brand campaign for Andersen Windows….Helio, a wireless carrier entering the U.S. market in 2006, will use Deutsch LA, Marina del Rey, Calif., for its ad work….
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More
