Director Bastian Glaessner has joined Blink for international representation and Furlined for work in the North American market. As one third of the now defunct directorial team Lynn Fox, Glaessner has built a reel featuring work for clients spanning commercials, fashion and the arts. His previous collaborations include spots for Audi (“Spider,” “Warm Up”), Mercedes (“Airbag”) and Miller (“Clean Streets”), concert and promo visuals for Bjork and the launch film for Stella McCartney's inaugural fragrance, Stella. Some of this work has earned accolades including Cannes Titanium for the “Crashes” spot for Axe and D&AD Silver for Bjork's World Tour visuals….Pulse Films USA has signed director Kahlil Joseph for music video and commercial representation. His latest video is “Until the Quiet Comes” for Flying Lotus. This adds to a clips credits list that also spans such artists as Shabazz Palaces, Seu Jorge and Shafiq Husayn. Launched in London back in 2005, Pulse Films now also has offices in Paris, New York and L.A…..San Francisco-based creative studio Bonfire Labs has hired executive producer Carey Crosby and sr. creative director John Stewart. Crosby comes to Bonfire from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, where she implemented an in-depth social media campaign for Sprint showcasing the power of the Sprint network. She has held production positions at Publicis Modem, Radium, Hal Riney & Partners and GSD&M, and helped co-found ad agency Red Ball Tiger and production service company Roaring Tiger Films. Before joining Bonfire, Stewart completed a freelance project for NBC reworking the new opening promo for Sunday Night Football starring Faith Hill. Over his career, he has worked with creative leaders at Digital Kitchen, SuperFad, and Radium in various capacities. Stewart is also well versed in the advertising agency world, having spent time at Duncan Channon and NKH&W….
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