Editorial shop The Whitehouse has launched Cap Gun, a Chicago-based production division featuring a core of talent consisting of exec producer Matt Abramson, director Alex Fendrich and production manager Kaitlyn Parks. The collective will handle a wide range of productions, including directing traditional broadcast commercials and creating original content (from conception to delivery of a finished product).
The first work out of the new venture includes Craftsman’s “Music Experiment” out of Y&R, Chicago, and a soon-to-be-released interactive project for Norton out of Leo Burnett, Chicago. Both jobs were directed by Fendrich.
David Brixton, managing partner of The Whitehouse, explained, “We saw an opportunity to extend the range of the creative solutions we offer our clients, particularly in the Chicago market.” Brixton knew Abramson as an agency producer who in turn introduced him to director Fendrich.
Abramson’s agency pedigree includes producing at Chicago shops Element 79 and then DDB Chicago. Fendrich also worked on the agency side as a creative in Chicago. He also performed with noted Chicago comedy troupe Second City. He then moved into directing spots for such clients as Western Union and Cricket Wireless, the latter of which marked his first collaboration with Abramson.
The Whitehouse continues to maintain offices in London, New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
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