Production company ALLDAYEVERYDAY has secured Heart, Brains & Nerve, an indie firm founded by Nathan Skillicorn, to handle representation in the Midwest. The history between ALLDAYEVERYDAY founder/EP Michael Karlbelnikoff and Roy Skillicorn, Nathan’s father, began back in the day with Roy representing HKM when the company was expanding from regional work to a national profile. This longstanding, trusted and successful connection opened the door to a collaboration with Nathan, whose observation of his father’s career inspired his own path…..
Toronto-based postproduction company Smile + Wave, headed by owner and editor Chris Van Dyke, has hired Sean Atkinson as director of talent and brand partnerships. Atkinson is best known for his time as head of sales at several top editorial houses in Canada. Now at Smile + Wave, Atkinson will be supporting its roster and building emerging talent for the future, pairing clients with rising stars or award-winning senior talent. His career has been highlighted by acclaimed creative projects including Molson’s “Beer Fridge” for agency Rethink, Fortnight Lingerie’s “Super Sexy CPR” for Red Urban, Sandy Hook Promise’s “Back To School Essentials” for BBDO NY, and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America’s “Not Allowed” for Grey Canada….
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