Post-Its
Editor Michael Reuter has joined Spot Editorial, Boston, where he’s already wrapped jobs for Stop & Shop and Lending Tree via agency Mullen in Wenham, Mass. Reuter had been freelancing in Boston, working on projects for Converse, Atari and Virgin Records…..Senior colorist Demetri Kitsopoulos has come aboard the Technicolor Creative Services (TCS) commercial department in Toronto. He brings international experience to his new roost, having served as a colorist across five continents (Digital Magic, Santa Monica; VHQ in Kuala Lumpur, The Refinery in Johannesburg, Digital Film Lab, Copenhagen)…TCS, Toronto, has also added senior visual effects artist Dan Kelley whose background includes stints with The Moving Picture Company and Cinesite Europe, London. His most recent work includes the Harry Potter film, The Goblet of Fire, and spots for Guinness and Heineken…..Stealing Time Editing, Toronto, has brought editor Barry McMann on board its roster….Editor Marcus Valentin has joined Relish, the Toronto shop headed by its co-owners, exec producer Kate Bate and editor Steve Manz….Irvine, Calif.-based Post Modern Group has acquired Magellan Media, a Costa Mesa, Calif. TV and commercial production company. Post Modern Group’s holdings include Post Modern Creative, Post Modern Edit, Post Modern Digital, and Post Modern Broadcast Studios….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