GSD&M IDEA CITY “UNSCREWS AMERICA” Austin, Tex.-based ad agency GSD&M Idea City has turned out an integrated campaign, “UnScrew America” spanning TV print, online media, viral videos and a website. The genesis for the project came when Leslie Chilcott, a producer of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, approached Idea City CEO/cofounder Roy Spence about developing a campaign that would encourage people to make the switch to energy-efficient lighting.
“Not everyone can rush out and buy a hybrid [vehicle], especially if you’re 13 years old,” said Chilcott. Changing a lightbulb is great, but what happens when we all change five? Ridiculously good things.”
In one TV spot, “Dead Serious,” actor Paul Reubens surprises actress Missi Pyle as she is changing her closet light bulb to an energy saving Compact Florescent Lightbulb (CFL). The comedian then surprises her by being uncharacteristically humorless when it comes to the subject of global warming. The commercial then ends with a voiceover saying, “If we all switch to CFLs and LEDs (Light-Emitting Diode), it will have the same effect as taking millions of cars off the road. Learn more at unscrewamerica.org.
“Dead Serious” was one of two TV campaign spots directed by Mark Palansky of Company, Los Angeles. Editor was Scott Philbrook of Fluid, New York.
For Idea City, Jeff Nixon and David Stanton were group creative directors; Mitch Bennett was associate creative director/writer; Wes Whitener, associate creative director/art director; and Paul Golubovich the producer.
MJZ’S DANTE ARIOLA FINDS A CHAIR Director Dante Ariola of MJZ has been named executive chairman of the 2008 Clio Awards’ Technique Jury. Ariola won the DGA Award last year as the best commercial director of 2006.
Ariola joins a roster of ’08 Clio executive jury chairpersons that includes Content & Contact chair Johnny Vulkan, partner in Anomaly, New York; TV/Cinema/Digital chair Tony Granger, chief creative officer, Saatchi & Saatchi, New York; Print, Poster, Innovative and Integrated chair Jeremy Craigen, executive creative director of DDB U.K.; and Interactive chair Matias Palm-Jensen, creative president of Farfar, Stockholm. The Clio Fest is set for May 14-17 in Miami….
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Deluxe Vancouver Ltd., a division of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Inc., has appointed Mark Atkinson as VP/general manager. Atkinson will be responsible for the new direction of Deluxe Vancouver, the former postproduction unit of Rainmaker recently acquired by Deluxe. He will segue from his current role as general manager of creative services for Deluxe Digital Studios, to his new position at Deluxe Vancouver effective March 1. Prior to joining Deluxe, Atkinson spent six years at DreamWorks SKG in a senior postproduction capacity. Deluxe has split the former Rainmaker post and effects company into two divisions. Atkinson will direct all motion picture lab, telecine, editorial and media management operations under the Deluxe Vancouver umbrella while Marianne O’Reilly continues to manage the visual effects division as president of the new CIS Vancouver entity. CIS Vancouver and the newly named CIS London, formerly Rainmaker U.K., are part of CIS Visual Effects Group. President of CIS Visual Effects Group is Don Fly who also leads CIS Hollywood….
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