Founder
Tool of North America
1) As of this month it will be 24 years ago that Tool first opened its doors as a production company. We opened with a simple vision of creating world class, effective, award winning work with extraordinary talent. The big difference between 1994 and 2019 is that when we referenced the word "work," we were implying TV commercials, which has changed for us over time, due to one of the many great things about our business: it’s consistently evolving. We pride ourselves in being a production partner that has been successful for the past 24 years, and has continued to be successful because it changed and evolved along with the industry’s own growth.
2) Every year there are new deliverables opening the doors to exciting new ways to tell a story about a brand. The different types of directors and artists that we now partner with on projects are amazing and constantly excites me. 2019 will continue to bring to light the need for diversity in talent and backgrounds, and also bring the need for specialized talent. And like every year, I am excited to see the Super Bowl commercials that Tool and our directors worked on and created, as well as the commercials our industry has created, as we experiment with new ways of storytelling. 2019, here we go.
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