By Robert Goldrich
LOS ANGELES --Newhouse Films, a satellite division of Crossroads, bicoastal, Chicago and London, has signed director Enno Jacobsen, formerly of Right Brain Media, Los Angeles. His latest spot work includes Dupont’s “The Lab” for Cramer-Krasselt, Milwaukee, a Suzuki campaign for Germany, and a Volkswagen Jetta ad for Europe.
Jacobsen first established himself as a director in Europe, after coming up the ranks at Neue Sentimental Film in Frankfurt, Germany. Working in postproduction during the day and editing documentaries at night for the German house, Jacobsen got his directing opportunity on a pitch video for Debitel, a major phone provider in Germany. He not only won the pitch, but Debitel chose the director to exclusively work on subsequent packages totaling some 30-plus commercials over the next three years.
He then moved stateside in 2002, directing for American and European clients. Among his early successes was an offbeat Right Brain-produced campaign for Wherehouse Music retail stores via agency Colby & Partners, Santa Monica. In fact, one of the spots, “Little Stalkers–CDs,” earned inclusion in SHOOT’s The Best Work You May Never See gallery in ’03.
The spot opens on what appears to be the POV of a would-be robber approaching a home. A potted plant gets knocked over as the camera moves in on the backdoor of the residence. The door opens and the intruder enters the house. We find ourselves in the kitchen, where the clumsy burglar knocks over a container of spices. Meanwhile an unsuspecting man slumbers deeply in the bedroom. The bedroom door opens and the camera moves in on him. Sensing that something his amiss, he awakens. The man opens his eyes to find the interloper standing on his chest–the break-in artist is a lawn gnome.
Understandably, the unexpected sight throws the man off guard. The gnome also has company–dozens of other gnomes who stand around the bed. The main gnome, still planted on the man’s chest, suddenly speaks, “Free CD.” The spot cuts to a graphic promoting a CD sale at Wherehouse. A voiceover touts the sale–“But 3, get the 4th free”–and then we’re returned to the bedroom where the man is attempting to take the gnome off his chest. The gnome says, “Uh-uh,” and the man pulls his hand away.
Jacobsen’s credits include spots for such clients as Volkswagen, Bandai/PlayStation, Suzuki and BMW. He’s taken on a wide range of work, making him hard to pigeonhole, though he’s partial to the description of “elegant storytelling with a smirk.”
Newhouse’s directorial roster includes Jacobsen, Steve Ramser and Patrick Solomon. Heidi Nolting is executive producer of the company, which is handled by an independent sales force consisting of Stacey Altman of Stacey & Co. on the West Coast, Robin Pickett in the Midwest, and Maria Stenz of Stenz & Co. on the East Coast.
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