By Robert Goldrich
This spec spot for startup company Toluca hot sauce opens on a scantily clad young woman getting ready for a night on the town while listening to a hot Latin dance beat. She briefly admires herself in the mirror. But while she seemingly likes what she sees, one has to wonder how much she likes herself as she proceeds to put a drop of hot sauce on her tongue. Clearly, the sauce is super hot, causing her considerable discomfort. Why in the world would she put herself through this?
As the sauce burns her mouth, the lass summons up as much intestinal fortitude as she can muster to fight through the pain. Then the reason for her voluntarily subjecting herself to this is revealed–and it’s linked to her appearance. She’s using the sauce to burn a hole in her tongue. This enables her to wear a tongue stud, which presumably beats having to pay for a professional piercing.
She puts on the jewelry and takes off for her hot date. The spot ends with a product shot of a Toluca bottle.
Tim Leake of Floating Lightbulbs, Los Angeles, conceptualized the commercial, serving as creative director/copywriter. (Leake is now a creative at Saatchi & Saatchi, New York.) Bill Kelman directed the ad via Apache Films, Venice, Calif. An up-and-coming director, Kelman has picked up nonexclusive representation in different U.S. markets, as well as in China and Brazil, from various production companies.
Robbie Howard executive produced and line produced the job. The spot was shot at Visualiner Studios, Los Angeles, by DP Damien Collier. The principal actress was Melissa Hoover.
Editor was Nimrod Erez of N.E. Things Studios, Hollywood. Erez also served as AfterEffects artist. Colorist was Rick Flores of Magic Film and Video, Burbank, Calif.
Audio post mixer/sound designer/music composer was Ben Davis of Ben Davis Audio, Venice, Calif.
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