Integrated content studio Humble has signed Dutch director Ismael ten Heuvel, a.k.a. Ismael, for commercials in the U.S. This marks his first exclusive representation in the American ad market (he had been handled for U.S. work earlier via a worldwide arrangement with Media Monks’ TheBoardRoom).
Based in Amsterdam, Ismael is an idea-driven storyteller who has collaborated closely with European agencies like DDB, Ogilvy, and TBWA. His work spans such brands as Ford, Volkswagen, and most recently Heineken for which he and his colleagues re-created 1880s’ Paris.
Ismael honed his skills as an art director and worked at Lowe Amsterdam for over a decade and credits his agency background with giving him the gift of being able to recognize a good idea in a matter of seconds. This deep knowledge of the creative process helps him cultivate ideas alongside agency teams in his work today. Ismael films have garnered honors including Cannes Lions and Epica Awards.
In his latest piece, Ismael collaborated with J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam to tell the bittersweet story of a young girl going back and forth between her divorced parents’ homes for PLUS Supermarket’s holiday campaign. The piece was directed by Ismael and female filmmaker Basha who are both on the roster of Pink Rabbit, his production company in Amsterdam. The PLUS short earned inclusion this week into SHOOT’s The Best Work You May Never See gallery.
“I was immediately drawn to Ismael’s work because of his range,” said Humble president/founder Eric Berkowitz. “Whether he’s telling a story using ornate art direction and production design, or a simple, more restrained approach, the takeaway remains the same–his films are extraordinary.”
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