Director Rich Wafer–whose work spans spots for such clients as McDonald’s, Nike and Honda, as well as episodic TV for Nickelodeon, ESPN, Comedy Central and Disney Channel–has signed with Washington Square Films where he’s already wrapped a campaign for Walgreens and is currently in pre-pro for a five-day Dow shoot in Montana.
Best known as a visual storyteller, Wafer had most recently been repped for commercials by The Joneses, which he joined in 2007.
Wafer’s career started in the mail room at Ogilvy & Mather, Los Angeles. After a year there, he went into production work, eventually becoming a producer at HKM Productions and later an executive producer at now defunct Propaganda Films.
Wafer then made the transition to director, joining HKM’s roster. His initial jobs there included comedy/dialogue fare for the FOX Sports Network, out of FCB San Francisco, and Nike’s “Baseball Is Dead” spot via Wieden+Kennedy, Portland, Ore. He later returned to Propaganda as a director in ’00. Following Propaganda’s closure, he directed commercials via such shops as Reactor Films.
Washington Square’s head of sales Jonathan Schwartz said he was drawn to Wafer’s storytelling prowess, sense of style, and his ability to consistently attract repeat business over the years.
The overall Washington Square Arts & Films is a production and management company with offices in New York and Los Angeles. The company produces television commercials, feature films, documentaries and digital/new media content. The Arts group manages the careers of actors, writers, directors and composers for the stage and screen. This division also handles booking for live performances, public readings and lectures.
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