By Robert Goldrich
In this spot, director Steve Ayson takes home a lion, a scenario that sounds like a dream come true for a commercialmaker. But the “Lion” in this case isn’t a Gold, Silver or Bronze statuette at Cannes–at least not yet. Instead it’s the king of the beasts as this :30, titled “Lion,” opens on a car driving through a wild animal safari park.
In the front seats are mom and dad, the latter behind the wheel. In the backseat are their two kids and grandmother. A lion approaches the vehicle and then jumps onto its hood, much to the family’s ooohing and aaahing amazement–except for the grandma who’s pretty much oblivious to everything.
Indeed seeing a lion up close and personal through the windshield glass is quite an experience. Its brush with nature concluded, the family remains in the car, which is now seen zipping through city streets. A pedestrian takes a long, anything-but-casual look at the automobile as it passes him. However, we’re not sure what that glance was about. Meanwhile the family has broken into a chorus of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”
The car then moves from city streets to suburbia. It’s when we go residential that the camera reveals that the lion is perched on the top of the car. Unaware of their wildlife companion, the family continues to sing. The vehicle proceeds up the driveway of their home. The automatic garage door opens and we see the car pull into the house’s attached garage.
As the family slips out of view–and possibly out of existence–a supered message reads, “Just call us,” followed by the appearance of a Central Beheer insurance company logo, accompanied by phone number and Web site adddress.
“Lion” was directed by Steve Ayson of The Sweet Shop, Auckland, New Zealand, for agency DDB Amsterdam. The job was produced via Czar.nl, Amsterdam, with production support from Stilking Films, Prague. Czar’s executive producer Sybrig Stork produced the job. The DP was Piotr Kukla.
DDB Amsterdam creatives were Sanne Braam and Sikko Gerkema, with Chantel Gulpers serving as agency producer.
Visual effects artist was Daisy Hulsken at Hectic Electric, Amsterdam. Amsterdam-based editor Marc Bechtold cut the spot. Billy Wychel of AVP, Amstelveel, Holland, was the colorist.
Sound designer was Reinder van Zalk of Farforce, Amsterdam. Hans Brower of Massive Music, Amsterdam, was the arranger.
Principal actors were Jennifer Wagner-Withers, Dave Mounfield, Orlando Byron, Liliana de Jouvencel and Pat Worth.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