Deutsch LA has hired Erwin Federizo and Eric Helin as associate creative directors on the Volkswagen account. They will report directly to executive VP/group creative director Michael Kadin and his new partner, exec VP/group creative director Matt Ian, who joined the shop in early July. Federizo and Helin come over from 180LA, where they worked together on several accounts, including Boost Mobile, Sony and adidas. The duo created the “Fast Don't Lie” campaign for adidas featuring NBA stars Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose, and comedian Ken Jeong. They teamed up at 180LA in 2008, and their work has been awarded One Show Pencils and SlamDance honors. Federizo and Helin both worked at Wongdoody (currently Wong, Doody, Crandall, Wiener) in Los Angeles before moving to 180LA in 2007 and 2008, respectively….Hornet has signed directing team Ben&Julia (Benoit Créac'h and Julia Gaudard) for U.S. repesentation. Involved in multiple disciplines, Ben&Julia's credits span varied platforms, from commercials to music videos to exhibitions at Art Basel. Most recently Ben&Julia created a large-scale art installation as part of the Pictoplasma Festival in Berlin….Noelle Stevenson, film commissioner of the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward Office of Film & Entertainment, has been elected chair of the Film Commission Council for Film Florida. In her new role, Stevenson will support the council's continued efforts related to encouraging the development of new media and the expansion of existing industry infrastructure, as well as retention of the state's film, television, and entertainment industry….
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More