Contrast Eye has signed Atanasio + Martinez for exclusive representation in the U.S. The directorial duo just wrapped a short film and VR campaign for Etihad Airways starring Nicole Kidman….
Nick Craske and Georgia Barretta have joined Cheil London as creative director and creative director design, respectively. Craske will work across all of Cheil London’s accounts, including Samsung, Coca-Cola, Etihad Airways and Asda. Craske comes over from Forever Beta where he was also a creative director. Prior to that, he was a creative director at Isobar where he developed work for Google, including the “Incredibly close” campaign, in which fans of Italian rock band Subsonica designed gifs that played on their idols’ jackets as they performed on stage. Barretta joins Cheil from WPP’s global activation agency, Geometry Global, where she was head of design. Barretta and Craske report to executive creative director Caitlin Ryan, who joined the agency from Karmarma in January….
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