Guinness’ “noitulovE” (“Evolution” spelled backwards) appears to be winning the survival of the fittest battle thus far this awards season. The spot–which shows two Guinness-drinking guys taking an evolutionary backtrack to prehistoric times–earned Best of Show distinction at the One Show last week in New York. . (The commercial has since garnered two Golds and a Silver at the Clio competition–see separate story.)
The One Show and Clio honors continue a recent track record of industry honors. In February, “noitulovE” won the Visual Effects Society (VES) Award for outstanding effects in a commercial. In April, the spot took the GRANDY.
The Guinness ad was directed by Daniel Kleinman of Kleinman Productions, London, for Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London. (Kleinman and director Ringan Ledwidge are in the process of forming their own London-based production company.) Visual effects house on “noitulovE” was Framestore CFC, London.
The One Club also bestowed a Gold Pencil upon “noitulovE” in the consumer TV, over :30 category. Copping Gold in that same category was Carlton Draught’s “Big Ad,” directed by Paul Middleditch of Plaza Films, Sydney, for George Patterson/Y&R, Melbourne.
Among the other major One Show Gold Pencil winners were: Crispin Porter +Bogusky (CP+B), Miami and Arnold Worldwide, Boston, for their joint effort on behalf of the American Legacy Foundation; and CP+B for solo work on its former Mini account (which the agency resigned after taking on Volkswagen duties).
On the latter score, CP+B scored Gold for Midi’s “Counterfeit” in the integrated branding campaign category, and for the “Counterfeit” DVD in the non-broadcast-single category. Bryan Buckley of bicoastal/international Hungry Man directed.
CP+B and Arnold teamed on two Golds for the American Legacy Foundation: one for best public service campaign on the strength of the spots “Fair Enough,” “Fat Boys,” “Urban Hipsters” and “Gumballs”; the other in the single PSA category for “Fair Enough Pilot.” Martin Granger of bicoastal/international Moxie Pictures was the primary director.
Other notable One Show Gold winners included Ameriquest’s “Don’t Judge” campaign directed by Craig Gillespie of bicoastal/international MJZ for DDB Los Angeles; Wieden+Kennedy, London, for Honda’s “Power of Dreams” campaign (including “Dreams” directed by Nick Gordon of Academy, London); and Viagra’s “Golf” helmed by Joachim Back via the Partners’ Film Company, Toronto, for agency Taxi, Toronto. (Back is handled stateside by Park Pictures, New York.)
For a full list of One Show winners spanning Gold, Silver and Bronze, log onto www.oneclub.org
The One Club also announced a new wrinkle in its One Show competition for next year. The One Club is partnering with National CineMedia, a digital content and advertising provider for movie theaters in the U.S., to broaden the One Show non-broadcast category to include a new cinema advertising competition.
The creative community is invited to submit storyboards for a :60 cinema ad beginning in Sept. ’06. The storyboards–which are to address the theme “Larger Than Life”–will be judged by the ’97 One Show jury with the category winner becoming eligible for a Gold Pencil.
National Cinemedia will award the winning concept with production at bicoastal/international RSA Films, and exposure on 4,200 movie screens in 425 theaters across the U.S.
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