Commercial director Michael Norman has joined Hello and Company. His work spans categories that include automotive, food and beverages, home improvement, finance, retail, and telecommunications spanning brands such as Toyota, McDonald’s, Sprint, 7-Up, JCPenney, NY Times, and American Express.
Norman’s spot for Allergan’s eye drug Restasis was reported by Nielsen as the #1 most memorable TV spot of 2013 among women aged 13 and over. The ad, which delves into one patient’s journey living with chronic dry eye, was listed as the number 9 most memorable spot of the year overall across all demographics.
Norman’s thoughtful approach to filmmaking can be attributed to the number of years he spent working as an editor. Originally from Alabama, Norman had an editing career that took him to work in major commercial production cities across the US. It was in the South where a client gave him the opportunity to direct a campaign for a national retailer. The spots each consisted of single-scene performances and went on to win regional and national awards, opening the door to him pursuing directing full time. >>
Prior to joining Hello and Company, director Norman was handled by production house Mechaniks.
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