Changes at the Helm
David Naylor & Associates (DNA), Hollywood, has taken on exclusive spot and music video representation in the U.S. for London-based production company Pagan. A prime focus for commercials will be Pagan director Vaughan Arnell, who made his first mark in the industry as half of the directing team Vaughan +Anthea, with Anthea Benton, in the mid-1980s. The duo was successful in both videos and spots. Arnell and Benton then began solo directing careers in ’96. Vaughan continued to be active in clips (The Spice Girls’ “Say You’ll Be There”) and commercials (Orange, Audi, Levi’s, Stella Artois). He joined Pagan in ’02. Additionally, Pagan has the mono-monikered Rankin, a noted photographer, publisher and most recently film director, whom DNA will handle stateside. David Naylor is president of DNA. His counterpart at Pagan is Adam Saward….. Director Grant Baird has joined MotivFilms, a Santa Monica shop founded in ’00 by director Eric Bute and exec producer Jim Rutherford. Baird first became known on the agency side, having served as creative director and head of production at Bozell-Bonneville and at Bonneville Communications, Salt Lake City…..MRB Productions has added directors Todd Kellstein, Brian O’Connell and Vincent Pagazza, joining company mainstay helmer Mark Teitelman…..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