John X. Carey–who was nominated for the DGA Award as Best Commercial Director of 2013 on the strength of Real Beauty Sketches, a short film viral sensation for Dove out of Ogilvy & Mather, Sao Paulo–has joined Anonymous Content. Carey had formerly been handled by Tool of North America. He directed Real Beauty Sketches while at Paranoid US (his roost prior to Tool). The short went on to become the most viewed commercial of all time, the third most shared commercial, and winner of the Cannes Lions Titanium Grand Prix.
In the lauded short, a forensic sketch artist draws women based on self-descriptions and how others describe them. The differences are striking, underscoring that women’s self-image falls short of capturing their true beauty, as more accurately reflected through the eyes of others. The artist never actually sees the women he sketches. His drawings are based solely on the verbal descriptions given to him.
Since the major splash made by Real Beauty Sketches, Carey has continued to direct ambitious ad fare. This year alone his work includes: the Cannes Lion Grand Prix Pharma winner, Phillips’ “Breathless Choir”; University of Phoenix’s “Voicemail” featuring NFL star receiver Larry Fitzgerald remembering his late mother; and “Dillan’s Voice” for Apple, sharing the moving triumph of an autistic teen who learns to express himself through using an iPad.
Carey’s work over the years has garnered 50 wins and nominations at commercial award competitions such as One Show, AICP Show, D&AD, Clios, and Cannes Lions.
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