In their first move since the launch of San Francisco agency Fancy last month?
In their first move since the launch of San Francisco agency Fancy last month, creative directors Mauro Alencar and Geoff Edwards have added two new creatives: DJ Neff, formerly of Deutsch LA, and Mark Krajan who comes over from TBWAChiatDay Los Angeles. At Deutsch, Neff worked exclusively on Sony PlayStation for the past year. Prior to that he was at Crispin Porter+Bogusky, Miami and Boulder. Colo. As for Krajan, he worked on Nissan-Infiniti and Visa at TBWAChiatDay. Previously he spent six years at McCann Worldgroup and T.A.G. in San Francisco on such brands as Xbox, Microsoft, General Motors and the San Francisco 49ers….SKUNK, New York, has signed director Julian Pugsley (formerly known as Pugsley) for spots. Pugsley has an agency pedigree, having been a creative at Berlin Cameron before eventually making the transition to director. His recent credits include a pair of Black & Decker campaigns for McCann Erickson, New York, and a two-spot package for Partnership for a Drug-Free America out of North Carolina agency McKinney….Elisa Orsburn has joined marketing ideas agency WONGDOODY, Culver City, Calif., as a broadcast producer. She will manage various broadcast projects and production efforts for agency clients including Full Tilt Poker and GameFly. Orsburn previously served as a producer at 72andSunny, El Segundo, Calif. While there, she oversaw full-scale productions including animation, live-action shoots, web films and music compositions for Microsoft Zune, Bugaboo and AND1. Prior to 72andSunny, Orsburn was an associate producer at TBWA/Chiat/Day in San Francisco, where she worked on broadcast projects for adidas, Motorola, Disney, Ameristar, McDonald's and Ask.com….Digital agency R/GA has added Peter Cole as technology director for its San Francisco office. He has a track record of producing successful rich-media applications and cutting edge digital experiences. Cole will partner with Mauro Cavalletti, executive creative director, R/GA San Francisco. Cole and Cavalletti previously worked at AKQA, where they collaborated on projects for Target. While there, Cole oversaw and built multiple engagements for Nike, Xbox, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and Kraft. In addition, he helped develop and deploy the first iPhone applications for Target and Gap. During his eight-year tenure at AKQA San Francisco, Cole rose to become director of creative development. He previously held the title of multimedia and web developer at Saatchi & Saatchi and Citron, Haligman, Bedecarre, where he developed websites, online marketing and various digital experiences for clients including, Visa, Palm and Procter & Gamble….
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