Chief Creative Officer
BBDO New York
2) Working at the speed and scale of social has been a big focus for us for the last few years. That means creating stuff that is good, fast and cheap. We’ve increased our in-house capabilities a lot, from staffing directors to investing in our in-house post facility. In the Creative department, we’ve really stressed the need to move from being simply Creatives to Creators— prototyping, shooting and collaborating with others.
3) That’s a tough question because there’s so much that I’m proud of and each for a different reason. A few that come to mind: the AT&T distracted driving work; the latest round of Foot Locker “Week of Greatness” spots; and our GE podcasts.
One that’s very personal to me, and that I’m really proud of our team for pulling off, is the Pedigree “A Vote for Good” film. I feel it was the right message at a difficult time and people really seemed to gain some semblance of comfort from seeing it. The idea was conceived on a Sunday night and shot a few days later in two different cities. The whole thing had to come together super fast because it had to run prior to the election which was happening in less than two weeks.
4) Live video is obviously the new flavor. So I expect to see more innovative work there. But I always like to look for the opposite of the latest thing because often that’s the thing that follows the latest thing. To that end, I think more brands will invest in big tent-pole filmic ideas. We’re seeing that happen now but usually around very special occasions, like the Super Bowl, holidays, live award shows, etc. I think in order to stand out from the masses, you’ll see more craft and attention put into filmic work throughout the year.
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