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    “Psychic Friends”

    By SHOOT StaffUpdated:No Comments1581 Views

    By Millie Takaki

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    The spot opens with a close-up on an eccentrically dressed and made-up older woman. The atmospheric lighting suggests the supernatural. The camera reveals three more women, sitting side by side. Young and attractive, they look expectantly across a cloth-covered round table. Clearly, they are visiting a psychic. She is predictably odd, gazing into her crystal ball and chanting what sounds like gibberish, as she tries to uncover the past lives of her three clients. One young women seems to be a believer; another looks ready for an adventure; the third is disappointed that they’re not about to be tattooed.

    The believer whispers that she’s been told she was once Joan of Arc. The supernatural session continues: With gestures and more gibberish, the psychic works herself into a trance, then declares that the three women’s prior lives are now revealed.

    The result gives a new meaning to the saying, "you have a frog in your throat." Uncontrollably, one surprised young woman croaks in froggy style the syllable "Bud." Another joins in throatily with "weis." And the third concludes with a guttural "er."

    Stunned, the three attractive lasses don’t immediately recognize themselves as the once-famous Budweiser frogs. Then, instinctively, the supposed former Joan of Arc recovers, whipping out her inordinately long tongue to capture a passing fly. "What?" she asks her friends, having swallowed the tasty morsel and self-assuredly wiped her lips.

    This offbeat spec spot, a :60, was directed by Danny Boyle of Culver City, Calif.-based Cognito Films. "Psychic Friends" was conceived by a creative team at Laguna Beach, Calif., ad agency Open Minds: creative director Mark Choate, art director Michael Powell, copywriter Neal Ford and producer Kevin Van Fleet.

    Alan Landau executive produced for Cognito; line producer was Dolly Tarazon. DP Joe Grasso shot the ad, and production designer was Kevin Cozen.

    Steve Svendsen of Hyena Editorial, Santa Monica, edited. Effects artist was Pete Mayor of The Finish Line, Santa Monica. Colorist was Paul Lear of Pacific Data Post, Santa Monica. Audio mixer was Robert Feist of RavensWork, Venice, Calif. Sound designer was Pete Kneser of Wimbo Music and Sound Design, Santa Monica.

    Category:The Best Work You May Never See



    Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance

    Saturday, November 23, 2024

    Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.

    The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.

    "This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."

    The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."

    And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.

    Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.

    Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.

    Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."

    It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More

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