Executive Producer
Biscuit Filmworks
1) Big budget advertising will still be dominated by major brands, but the barrier to entry for advertising has really been lowered thanks to the Internet and mobile. There is a huge demand for great content across all platforms right now. Viewers want a great story and great concept whether they’re consuming it online, in a headset, in a live experience, or on TV.
2) I think 2016 really ended on a low note for the U.S., and I’d like to see Biscuit rectify the negativity in 2017 by continuing to create amazing work that inspires—whether it’s a funny commercial that brightens someone’s day, or a groundbreaking PSA that incites positive change. Director Aaron Stoller’s latest work for the National Partnership for Women & Families does a bit of both.
In the PSA, a 260-week pregnant paralegal struggles throughout her workday, unable to afford enough vacation time to actually deliver her baby. The commercial shows the enormously pregnant woman humorously maneuver around the office, while shedding light on the darker issue of workers who are unable to take paid family leave. It’s entertaining, but it also sends a bold message that sticks with the viewer.
3) Roll with the punches, and be willing to adapt and change. Sometimes things don’t go exactly as you’ve planned or imagined, and in order to succeed you need to be able to deal with it. There were a lot of curveballs last year, and many of us in the advertising industry were surprised if not shattered by the outcome of the election. It’s just another reminder of how we need to be ready to adapt and work together to create calls to action.
4) A healthier 2017. Am I being too vague? Seriously though, I think that’s really what everyone strives for after the holidays.
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