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.
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