SapientNitro, part of Sapient (NASDAQ: SAPE), has brought John Carstens on board its L.A. office as a creative director. Along with VP creative Anthony Yell, Carstens will oversee the creative process for West Coast clients such as Adobe, Bare Escentuals, and Sony.
Carstens comes to SapientNitro from Leo Burnett, Chicago, where he was sr. VP/creative director, served as the global lead on BlackBerry, and contributed to the Autonomy, Canon Australia, and Nintendo accounts.
Prior to Burnett, Carstens was group creative director at DDB Chicago, leading Reebok and Wrigley accounts in the U.S., and pitching new business for offices across the DDB global network, including Berlin, New York, San Francisco, and Beijing.
He was also a creative director at Cramer-Krasselt in Chicago, and a copywriter at Merkley Newman Harty (now Merkley + Partners) in New York and TBWAChiatDay in Los Angeles. In his nearly 15-year career, Carstens’ work has been recognized by the One Show, Cannes, WebAwards, and TBS’ America’s Funniest Commercials, among others.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
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