Director Nick Ball, who’s well established as a director Down Under, has landed his first U.S. representation, signing with Furlined, the L.A.-based production house headed by president Diane McArter.
Most of Ball’s work has been for Australian/New Zealand clients, including artful comedy spots for such clients as Kia (from agency Innocean), Bonds (a campaign out of Banjo, Sydney), Sky Television (DDB New Zealand), Wrigley’s (DDB Sydney) and the Melbourne International Film Festival (Ogilvy Melbourne).
“There’s humor in everything,” said Ball. “But it’s in the way you establish the context that delivers the laughs. My work is about displacement. I’m always looking for the unexpected. I’m searching for an irreverent tone, but irreverence with a reason; not just for the sake of it.”
Ball hails from Australia–where he is handled by production company Finch–and his work has been recognized at many award shows, including D&AD, ONE Show and Cannes.
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