HSI Productions has entered into an arrangement with digital creative shop Heavenspot whereby the former will represent the latter to ad agencies and clients. Via the partnering, HSI gains digital chops, enabling the longstanding commercialmaking house to package its production acumen with Heavenspot’s web and interactive talent and resources. Conversely Heavenspot picks up access to live-action directors and production, thus allowing it to offer more comprehensive capabilities to not only its clientele but also those advertisers, marketers and ad agencies it’s introduced to by HSI.
According to HSI head of sales Michelle Ross, the two companies have already collaborated on an Old Navy project for Crispin Porter+Bogusky, with HSI handling the commercial production and Heavenspot the digital element of the campaign, including web banner work. HSI also secured for Heavenspot the digital portion of a Quiznos job (with live action spot work done by another production house).
Heavenspot’s portfolio includes the creation of graphically rich websites, movie and games trailers, and banner ads for global brands like Disney, Adobe, Hasbro, Fox Broadcasting, Focus Features, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Heavenspot earned this year’s “People’s Voice” Webby Award for “Adobe Brilliant.” Creative entrepreneur Chevon Hicks–who earlier served in senior creative positions at Universal New Media, Sony Online Entertainment, Attitude Network, and MGM Creative Advertising–is founder and president of Heavenspot.
“We know that HSI is the perfect representative to help us expand our capabilities in production and client relations,” said Hicks. “We look forward to leveraging our strengths in the evolving digital space on behalf of HSI clients as we move forward together to create memorable digital content for current and future clients.”
Heavenspot’s sister company AppWagon publishes games and applications for the new wave of portable touch devices.
HSI produces commercials and music videos for global brands and entertainment artists such as Activision, Pepsi, Burger King, adidas, Britney Spears, Madonna, Justin Timberlake to Jay-Z, while representing such notable directors as Brett Ratner, David LaChapelle, Joseph Kahn, Hype Williams and Allen Hughes. Founded by president/producer Stavros Merjos in 1986, HSI has offices in Los Angeles, New York and London.
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