By Millie Takaki
SANTA MONICA --Editor Ben Longland, formerly of Nomad Editing Company, Santa Monica, has joined bicoastal Cosmo Street. His credits over the years include spots for such clients as Burger King, Toyota, Honda, Lexus, Cadillac, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Coors, Audi and Nike.
Besides these major advertisers, Longland has also made his mark with work for smaller scale advertisers, such as the San Francisco Zoo for which he edited “Tail,” directed by Harry Cocciolo of bicoastal Tool of North America for BBDO West, San Francisco. That spot made SHOOT’s “The Best Work You May Never See” gallery last year and helped earn Cocciolo–who at the time was transitioning from an agency creative to a directorial career–inclusion in SHOOT’s 2005 New Directors Showcase.
Longland has cut the work of assorted helmers ranging from Cocciolo to the Traktor collective to Roman Coppola, Tony Kaye, Martin Granger, Andrew Douglas, David Dobkin, Riess/Hill and Michael Bay.
Longland’s current reel includes commercials for Apple, Miller Lite, Sierra Mist, Sony PlayStation, Wrangler Jeans and ESPN.
He said he was drawn to Cosmo Street by its people’s “sense of energy and excitement to do really creative work.” Longland said he’s always enjoyed the diversity and intensity of commercials, working with good directorial and creative talent. “Every job is a unique challenge and requires a fresh approach,” he related. “There’s the technical aspect, but you also have to have passion.”
A native Londoner, Longland moved to Southern California with the goal of becoming an editor. He first established himself at Rock Paper Scissors, Los Angeles, before moving over to Nomad.
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