Three breaking TV commercials and a Facebook auction aim to build awareness and solicit contributions for the philanthropic Chauncey Billups Elite Basketball Academy, Aurora, Colo. The campaign, titled “If you call right now…,” is the first work by advertising agency TDA_Boulder, Boulder, Colo., for its new client.
To open each of the three :30s, the L.A. Clippers’ Billups states, “I’m hoping you will support my non-profit organization, Billups Elite, which helps shape young men’s lives by playing competitive basketball.” An unnamed cohort (he is Billups Elite CEO Ronnie DeGray) continues, “If you call right now…,” then spells out each commercial’s can’t-miss offer.
For this “Best Work” entry, the offer is that Billups will bake you a cake for a $75,000 donation. (For gluten-free, you’ll need to add another $10,000 to your donation).
Both Billups and DeGray then look at a silent phone. While the offer is real, lesser donations, by phone or online, are also welcome.
TDA_Boulder creative director Jonathan Schoenberg states, “There is something odd, and potentially funny, about a man who makes $13 million a year asking you for money. We thought that instead of a sob story about kids who deserve help, it would be more interesting to play off the perception that pro athletes are a bit out of touch with what things cost.”
A companion social campaign, titled “Garage Sale,” starts from Billups’ Facebook page, facebook.com/chaunceybillups , which contains links to eBay bidding on weekly for sale items, like his autographed practice jersey and shorts, or his custom Adidas sneakers.
Creative credits go to creative director/copywriter Schoenberg and creative director Thomas Dooley, and art director Austin O’Connor. The director is Sam Miller of production company Rehab, Denver and San Francisco.
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