An electric fan is on in an empty room. Clothes tumble about in a washer. An electric coffee maker percolates to make that much needed morning cup of java.
Then something odd begins to emerge from the coffee maker–not decaf but rather a slowly inflating black balloon. Another balloon is then seen inflating from the videocassette slot of a combo TV set/VCR.
A voiceover explains, “Each one of these balloons represents 50 grams of greenhouse gas. You can’t see it but you produce greenhouse gas every time you use energy. The average home produces over 250,000 balloons every year.”
Indeed we then see black balloons ascending to the ceiling in different rooms of the house. The washer door opens to release a batch of balloons, as does the refrigerator door.
A door to the house then flies open to let hundreds of black balloons skyward. The voiceover then advises us to “save energy, money and reduce your impact on climate change. You have the power to make a difference.”
A closing super reads, “You have the power. Save energy. A Victorian Government Initiative,” accompanied by a phone number and a Web site address (sustainability.vic.gov.au).
Mark Molloy directed this spot, titled “Black Balloons,” for the Victoria Government of Melbourne’s Sustainable Energy Authority. The spot was produced by Aussie production house Exit Films, Melbourne, for George Patterson Y&R, Melbourne. (Molloy is repped stateside by Furlined, Santa Monica.)
Wilf Sweetland served as executive producer/producer for Exit. The DP was Robert Humphreys.
The agency creative team consisted of creative director James McGrath, copywriter Sassy Havyatt, art director Frank Muller and producer Pip Heming.
Editor was freelancer Rohan Zerna. Colorist was Edel Rafferty of Digital Pictures, Melbourne. Composer/sound designer was Heather McCurdy via Gusto Music, Melbourne.
Supreme Court Seems Likely To Uphold A Law That Could Force TikTok To Shut Down On Jan. 19
The Supreme Court on Friday seemed likely to uphold a law that would ban TikTok in the United States beginning Jan. 19 unless the popular social media program is sold by its China-based parent company.
Hearing arguments in a momentous clash of free speech and national security concerns, the justices seemed persuaded by arguments that the national security threat posed by the company's connections to China override concerns about restricting the speech either of TikTok or its 170 million users in the United States.
Early in arguments that lasted more than two and a half hours, Chief Justice John Roberts identified his main concern: TikTok's ownership by China-based ByteDance and the parent company's requirement to cooperate with the Chinese government's intelligence operations.
If left in place, the law passed by bipartisan majorities in Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in April will require TikTok to "go dark" on Jan. 19, lawyer Noel Francisco told the justices on behalf of TikTok.
At the very least, Francisco urged, the justices should enter a temporary pause that would allow TikTok to keep operating. "We might be in a different world again" after President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20. Trump, who has 14.7 million followers on TikTok, also has called for the deadline to be pushed back to give him time to negotiate a "political resolution." Francisco served as Trump's solicitor general in his first presidential term.
But it was not clear whether any justices would choose such a course. And only Justice Neil Gorsuch sounded like he would side with TikTok to find that the ban violates the Constitution.
Gorsuch labeled arguments advanced by the Biden administration' in defense of the law a... Read More