Director Anthony Garth has joined Seed Media Arts, the Roy Skillicorn-founded company headquartered in Chicago with offices in L.A., for national representation except for Detroit. Avalon Films continues to handle Garth in the Detroit market. The director’s credits span such clients as Chevy, Ford, Lincoln, Dassault, GM, Jeep and Frontier. Garth’s Chrysler “Born of Choir” spot and Michigan Tourism’s “Pure Michigan” have won multiple awards for agencies McCann Erickson and Doner, respectively. He began his career turning out music videos for the likes of The White Stripes and Jim Jones, and later moving up the charts to Eminem and Kid Rock…..Ben Conrad has launched L.A.-based live action production company GenPop. As co-founder of Logan, creative director/director Conrad worked with brands including Apple, Nike, BMW and Ford. He is widely known for directing the viral Gymkhana series with rally driver Ken Block, which has racked up 200 million-plus views. Gymkhana also grabbed two Gold Pencils from The One Show, among many other awards. Gymkhana 5, set on the streets of San Francisco, is the most popular installment, reaching over 80 million views on its own. GenPop has assembled a roster of creative technologists and directors spanning live action, animation, projection mapping, experiential and virtual reality. The talent lineup includes Conrad, Andrew Bruntel, Fellow, Riley Blakeway, Collider Studio, Josh Forbes, Master of Shapes, Andrew Gura, Renascent, Steven Ilous, Geoffrey Lillemon, Pieter Henket and tabletop/lifestyle director Tiger in a Jar. Execs include EP Pierre Nobile, Nick Moceri who heads GenPop’s feature and TV ventures, and managing director Alex Anderson….Editor Chris Murphy has joined Whitehouse Post’s L.A. office. He spent the past nearly decade at Canadian shop Relish which continues to handle him for Toronto-based work. He has cut for clients including Google, Bose and Habitat for Humanity…..
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