Miscommunication can spread like wildfire–and that’s the creative underpinning for this Solo Mobile phone service comedy spot directed by Brian Lee Hughes of Reginald Pike, Toronto, for Vancouver, B.C.-based agency Rethink.
We open in a high school hallway where students are rushing and milling about in-between classes. One girl says to another, “I completely choked on that test.”
That statement is heard by a nearby student who relates over her walkie talkie cell phone, “Lisa totally choked.”
A succession of kids relay the message on, translating into the “news” that Lisa “choked,” which soon becomes “choked to death.”
“That’s so sad,” says one classmate.
A girl reminisces, “We went to fat camp together.”
Several cell phone-wielding kids shed tears.
“Are you going to the vigil?” asks a lad over his cell phone.
Next we hear organ music as Lisa opens an auditorium door. She sees a huge photo of herself, with a roomful of kids–mostly dressed in black–in mourning. As she turns away to presumably leave this awkward situation, the kids see her, scream as if they’ve seen a ghost and then quickly disperse.
At this moment of bedlam, a voiceover is heard against a backdrop of graphics/product shots: “Solo Mobile. Cell phone. Walkie Talkie. Spread the Word.”
The Rethink creative ensemble consisted of creative directors Chris Staples and Ian Grais, associate creative director/copywriter Rob Tarry, art director Noreel Asuro, producer Ann Rubenstein and account director Tracey Chapple.
Director Hughes’ support team at Reginald Pike included executive producers James Davis and Josefina Nadurata, and producer Amalie Bruun. Tico Poulakakis was the DP.
Offline/online editor was Matthew Griffiths of Cycle Media, Vancouver. Colorist was Claudio Sepulveda of Technicolor, Vancouver.
Craig Zarazum of Wave Productions, Vancouver, served in the dual role of audio post mixer/sound designer.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
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