By Robert Goldrich
We see a man in front of his computer during the wee small hours of the morning. But he’s not burning the midnight oil. Instead he is getting his jollies in this darkened room by viewing some adult entertainment. The room’s lone source of illumination is the light emanating from the computer screen.
Though we never actually see what’s on screen, it’s clear that the content is X-rated, especially judging from the man’s reaction when he hears his wife off in the distance asking him what he’s doing up at this ungodly hour.
The guy desperately tries to log out of his porn session, but computer mouse and keyboard are uncooperative. When she enters the room, he acts out of desperation, placing the monitor face down on the keyboard. While she might not be able to see what’s on screen, the wife clearly knows what her dear hubby has been up to.
The spot then puts this humorous episode into retail context, transitioning from the man being caught in the act to a bit of helpful supered advice: “Get a laptop.”
The end tag is a logo for Future Shop, a chain of retail stores in Canada that sells the latest in high-tech electronics.
This TV/cinema spot, which broke last month in Canada, was directed by the Perlorian Brothers of Reginald Pike, Toronto, for agency Rethink, Vancouver, B.C. (The Perlorian Brothers are repped stateside by Biscuit Filmworks, Los Angeles.) James Davis and Josefina Nadurata executive produced for Reginald Pike, with Tom Evelyn serving as producer. The DP was Marten Tedin.
The Rethink team consisted of creative directors Chris Staples and Ian Grais, art director Rob Sweetman, copywriter Bryan Collins and producer Ann Rubeinstein.
Offline/online ditor was Matthew Griffiths of Cycle Media, Vancouver. Assistant editor was Rob Doucet. Colorist was Claudio Sepulveda of Cycle Media. Visual effects were done at Bear Studios, Vancouver. Audio engineer was Brandon Edwards of Wave Productions, Vancouver. Principal actor was Jodie Graham.Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More