We open on a woman laying in a hospital bed. She is bald, presumably from chemotherapy. The camera moves back to reveal that the bed is on a heavily trafficked city sidewalk, next to a public transportation Metro station.
The woman is strong in voice and spirit as she earnestly seeks help, holding up a collection cup, asking passersby during work commute time to donate to research in the fight against Hodgkin’s Disease. One pedestrian after another ignores her, preoccupied with getting to their workplaces or wherever.
A supered message then appears on screen against a backdrop: “Youth are the #1 victims of Hodgkin’s Disease. Funding for research is largely non-existent.”
An end tag carries a website address–fight2win.org–for those who care to learn more and hopefully help.
The website is that of the Alese Coco Fight 2 Win Foundation, which aims to find a cure for Hodgkin’s Disease and recurrent Hodgkin’s Disease through increasing awareness and raising money to fund research grants.
The PSA was directed by the Russo Brothers of RSA Films for Draftfcb, Irvine, Calif. Editor was Hovig Menakian of Optimus Santa Monica. The spot is slated to run on FOX, Turner and ESPN through the end of the year.
“[Hodgkin’s Disease] victims are literally being ignored,” said creative director/writer Scott Murray of Draftfcb, Irvine. “We decided that was the story we needed to tell, and we went out of our way to make sure the spot felt as real as possible–from the casting to the sound design to the look of the film to the way we edited the story–so as to make sure nothing got in the way of the message.”
The PSA originated when Greg Creed, the president of Taco Bell who sits on the board of the Alese Coco Fight 2 Win Foundation, asked Draftfcb and Optimus to develop a spot to help the organization’s mission.
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