Director Jaume, formerly of bicoastal/international Partizan, has come aboard bicoastal/international Believe Media for representation in the U.S. and Europe…..Passion Pictures, London, has taken on representation for the animation collective SSSR, which consists of Kristian Hammerstad, Marc Raisbig and Yu Sato. The latter is from Japan, while Hammerstad and Raisbig are from Norway; the threesome met at Central St. Martin’s College of Art where they graduated with degrees in graphic design last year. SSSR’s credits include a trilogy of music videos for the band Subtle, and a 30-second test commercial, “Evolution,” which won the Kodak Student Film Award. The spot addresses the dangers of smoking….The directing team of Coodie and Chike has signed with A Band Apart, Los Angeles, for exclusive representation in commercials and music videos. The duo’s credits include the Kanye West video “Through The Wire,” which recently copped video-of-the-year honors at The Source Hip Hop Awards. Among other Coodie and Chike-helmed clips are West’s “Two Words,” which featured Mos Def and Freeway, “Culo” with rappers Pit Bull and Lil’ Jon, and a directorial collaboration with Mos Def on the gritty street video “Ghetto Rock.” Coodie and Chike recently directed a spec TV spot for Burrell Advertising, Chicago, which helped the agency land work for McDonald’s….Director Sarah Pirozek, who continues to work via Dame Works, New York, has extended her geographic reach by linking with Sugar Film Production, Dallas….Director/graphic artist Anders Hallgren has joined Freestyle Collective, New York, as a senior designer. He most recently worked as a freelance designer and director at several New York studios….Director Allen Coulter (HBO’s The Sopranos and the upcoming Rome) is prepping his first feature, Truth, Justice and the American Way. The Focus Features film examines the mysterious death of actor George Reeves, who portrayed Superman in the original live-action TV series. Adrien Brody, Ben Afflect and Diane Lane will star. Coulter directs commercials via bicoastal/international Hungry Man….After wrapping work on the new MTV Networks series Wonder Showzen, director Jim Tozzi is again available for commercials via KanDoKid, a New York house founded last year by executive producer Tony Harding and director Jeff Kennedy….
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