Los Angeles-based SixTwentySix Productions has added director Jared Asher Harris to its roster for exclusive music video and commercial representation in the U.S. and U.K. Harris graduated from Emerson College and began working for STX Entertainment and television creator Butch Hartman before setting his sights on a directing career. Harris began directing with Sony Music, creating lyric videos. He soon caught the eye of Atlantic Records, who most recently paired him with fast-rising electronic artist Whethan for his “Top Shelf” music video. Among his other latest music clips are UPSAHL’s “The Other Team,” and The Jesus & Mary Chain’s “Song for a Secret.” SixTwentySix Productions, founded by Jake Krask and Austin Barbara, launched in 2017 and is a full-service production company specializing in music videos and branded content. Harris joins SixTwentySix’s diverse roster of directors that includes Millicent Hailes, Paul Capra, and Miles & AJ….
New York-based creative agency Gradient has expanded, merging with Los Angeles-based social and digital agency Little Arrows and adding Jennifer de Fouchier as executive creative director and partner. Consolidating talent under the heading of Gradient Group, Little Arrows will now be known as Gradient Digital, augmenting Gradient Experiential’s physical expertise. Together, a 50-plus team will work across offices in NY and L.A. De Fouchier has an extensive background in experience design and luxury, having previously served as director of design at David Stark Design. She also held creative roles at Louis Vuitton, M.A.C. Cosmetics, Bulova and Hearst, among others….
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