Bill Reilly, owner and executive producer of Los Angeles-based Brilliant Works, has been named executive producer for Pictures in a Row‘s commercial and digital divisions. The announcement was made by PICROW founder, director Peter Lang. Reilly will bring Brilliant Works directors Zach Braff, Michael Haldane, and Art Streiber over to PICROW.
Reilly has an extensive entertainment industry background that spans almost three decades. From his early work at Dream Quest Images, Lucasfilm, and other leading visual effects companies, Reilly went on to develop strong creative and business relationships with ad agencies around the country. He more recently served as executive producer for commercials and advertising content at animation and mixed-media production house Curious Pictures.
Over the years, Reilly has worked on a number of high-profile campaigns, including Super Bowl spots for Pizza Hut that starred Donald Trump and Fran Drescher, and production packages for Dr. Pepper, Lay’s, Coke, and other major brands. As an EP, Reilly has teamed with many talented directors–he executive produced Pella Windows’ “Elopement,” which was directed by Mike Bigelow for Y&R NY and earned a nomination for the primetime commercial Emmy Award in 1998.
Recent commercial work for PICROW includes Lang’s ongoing work for USAA (for Lowe Campbell Ewald Detroit), the latest featuring NFL football star Robert Griffin III (RG3), who introduces viewers to his hometown in Texas and his dedicated parents, both Army veterans. Lang has also completed several branded content shorts for Hyundai through Greenlight Media for Jimmy Kimmel Live. Director Peter Lydon just shot a spot entitled “Sky” starring Al Pacino for Sky Broadband and BBH-London, while Bryan Barber directed a spot for Charter Communications out of GlobalWorks. On the digital side, PICROW editor Ben Nussbaum put on his director’s cap to complete a short film for longtime client SCAN Health Plan (out of Engle + Murphy). The film, “Fragile Safety Net”, reminds doctors and other medical professionals of the healthcare obstacles often faced by the elderly.
Recent projects for Brilliant Works directors include heartfelt spots (“Danny”, “Martine”, “Rose” and “Ron”) directed by Haldane for Bayer (Energy BBDO, Chicago). Haldane has also helmed campaigns for BCAA Travel Insurance (Rethink Vancouver) and DuPont (Ogilvy & Mather New York). Braff is known for his feature and TV work, but has directed spots for Dunkin Donuts (Hill Holliday Boston), Hanes (The Martin Agency) and Head & Shoulders (Saatchi & Saatchi New York).
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