Obama Calls For Net Neutrality

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By Jessica Klein

President Obama’s come out with a statement in support of net neutrality, cementing his administration’s stance on the issue. In the statement, he calls for the FCC to reclassify consumer broadband service under the Telecommunications Act’s Title II, which will prevent the likes of “internet fast lanes.”

“We cannot allow internet service providers to restrict the best access or to pick winners and losers in the online marketplace for services and ideas,” Obama said.

Though he noted that the decision is ultimately up to the FCC alone, he called for them to consider such rules as “no blocking,” “no throttling” (when ISPs slow some content providers and grant speedier access to others), “increased transparency,” and “no paid prioritization.”

Of course, major players on both sides of the Title II battle include Netflix and Verizon. The former previously filed with the FCC in support of reclassifying consumer broadband service under Title II. Meanwhile, Verizon responded to the president’s statement, according to Variety, insisting that Title II would mark “a radical reversal of course that would in and of itself threaten great harm to an open internet.”

Watch President Obama’s Statement

This article was originally posted on VideoInk and is reposted on [a]listdaily via a partnership with the news publication, which is the online video industry’s go-to source for breaking news, features, and industry analysis. Follow VideoInk on Twitter @VideoInkNews, or subscribe via thevideoink.com for the latest news and stories, delivered right to your inbox.

CREATIVE: ASOS Lets You Control The Colors

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Brands are having a whole lot of fun with video lately. From last week’s cinematic masterpiece from Honda to GAP’s interactive video letting you play with stripes. Now another clothing brand is exploring the possibilities and music is a huge part of it yet again.

ASOS has created a music video where the clothing, background and accessories are color-coordinated, where you can navigate each theme by clicking on your colors of choice at the bottom of the screen. It’s a fun and interesting way to reall showcase ASOS’ broad clothing collection for AW14. The whole thing is set to a song from London-based band, JUCE.

Online video is ripe with possibilities when it comes to creating interactive and augmented-reality experiences and brands are certainly getting attention this way.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=43rVGFnbK2A

Facebook’s Unfollow Feature Will Be Unkind To Boring Content

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On Friday, Facebook unveiled in a new blog post that they would be making it even easier to unfollow friends and items in your newsfeed than ever before. If you were concerned about organic reach before, this utility will possibly make that reach even less– if your content isn’t up to snuff.

This all is in line with Mark Zuckerberg’s recent Q&A, where we discussed how Facebook is taking strides to give users more control over how they want their Facebook feeds to look like.

So what does this mean for brands whose pages are more often than not buried in mix without a paid boost It’s going to take a bit more to ensure users aren’t unfollowing you. Just one lackluster post could mean a big dip in followers and more users choosing to see less of your content.

For now, the feature is available on desktop and mobile web version of Facebook but will soon be coming to the social network’s popular mobile app.

Top Trailers For the Week: November 17th

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It’s Friday, and that means another round of the week’s best trailers. This week brings plenty of highlights from movies and video games, so let’s just jump right in with both feet.

Riot Games has just added some significant new changes to the realm of Summoner’s Rift in League of Legends, introducing said changes in an interactive guide that can be found here. Fans of the game can explore the many differences Riot has implemented into the world, including videos like the one seen above.

Back in the year 2000, Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask for Nintendo 64, a decidedly darker chapter in the popular adventure series. It became a cult favorite, which is all the more reason that the publisher will re-release the game for Nintendo 3DS next year. Majora’s Mask was one of the many highlights in the company’s latest Nintendo Direct special, which can be viewed here.

Disney unveiled its newest trailer for Rob Marshall’s musical spectacular, Into the Woods, which will open Christmas Day. This new piece of footage features a number of stars, including Anna Kendrick, Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp, who finally makes an appearance as the Big Bad Wolf. Expect this movie to clean up easily at the box office.

The final chapter of the Hobbit trilogy is just a few weeks’ away from release in theaters, and director Peter Jackson promises it will be the “defining” chapter in the series, setting events for the classic Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Fans can check out the film when it arrives on December 17th.

Neill Blomkamp, the director of District 9 and Elysium, brings his science fiction touch to a different kind of film with Chappie, which releases next year. Featuring Sharlto Copley and Hugh Jackman, the story follows a quirky robot who essentially tries to adapt to human feelings, only to run into conflict. The unique style of this trailer definitely piques interest in the final film, which will arrive early next year.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cpZ0uQwgjnQ

Last but certainly not least, Blizzard introduced its first original game property in 17 years this morning at its annual Blizzcon event, with the debut of Overwatch. The game appears to be a team-based PC shooter, although more specific details are likely to be revealed in 2015. For now, the Pixar-style trailer above is certainly worth a watch.

[a]listdaily’s #MustReads: November 7th

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We sort through quite a bit of the fluff out there on the Internet on a daily basis and we’ve found what we think are the most crucial  and interesting news items from all over. We’re talking no stone left unturned. So, consider this your new one-stop-shop to being your most informed self as you prepare to head into your next work week.

Have something else to share Feel free to comment with your contribution below.

Meet The Network of Guys Making Thousands of Dollars Tweeting As “Common White Girls”: BuzzFeed gets to the fine details of what groundwork was laid in place to ensure that now infamous viral marketing moment #AlexFromTarget could happen.

Mark Zuckerberg Holds His First-Ever Public Q&A on Facebook: Mark addresses such topics as Facebook’s organic reach, what The Social Network got wrong and why he wears the same t-shirt every day.

How eSports Influenced Activision’s Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare: The latest from the popular franchise looked to eSports pros for cues on how to better the game.  Michael Condrey, co-founder of Sledgehammer Games dishes on how this influenced game mechanics and Call of Duty’s entrance into the eSports sphere with the Call of Duty Championship.

Why Silicon Valley Doesn’t Care About Android: Why Silicon Valley isn’t so hot on that other big OS. (Hint: it boils down to monetization.)

Physical Video Games Let You Make One Move A Day: While Ishac Bertran’s Slow Games could easily be objects of art, they will try your patience, memory and your observation abilities to create a whole new kind of gaming experience.

Why BuzzFeed Doesn’t Do Clickbait: BuzzFeed attempts to extricate itself from that little portmanteau it has become synonymous with… clickbait.

It’s All Mobile With Robert Brill and Brian Foster: Part of our new series featuring the people behind Ayzenberg, we talk to the dynamic duo behind influencer platform ION to talk in-depth about influencer marketing and why “mobile” isn’t even worth mentioning anymore.

The Chinese Games Market: An in-depth analysis of the huge (and growing) Chinese games market and what challenges it will face.

Twitter Was Right– It’s Not The Next Facebook: Turns out, Twitter is the next Twitter.

Silicon Valley’s Youth Problem: The New York Times addresses the chasm between the young and old in Silicon Valley and why the next cool app might pale next to the app that really matters.

SuperData Report: De-Risking Game Development: SuperData does more than just look at sales numbers. This time, they look at how the digital distribution is changing the gaming industry, and fast.

How Brands Can Help Save Journalism (It’s Not With Content Marketing): Contently’s Shane Snow says that “the Journalism business is an old man on life support” and that can hardly be argued. Snow makes a passionate case for “lateral thinking”– what it is and why it needs to be applied to the Journalism (with a capital ‘J’) industry.

How Modern Marketplaces Like Uber and Airbnb Build Trust to Achieve Liquidity: An interesting analysis of what makes these sharing economy marketplaces tick and what makes them so darn effective.

Media and Tech Brands Rule YouTube: Media and tech seem to the be the first to realize YouTube’s major potential for branded content. Everyone else is playing a game of catch-up.

Should You Listen to Your Users Or Your Data : Data can tell you one story, but without real human feedback, you stand to miss some important points. Here’s what you might miss if you acquiesce to one side too much.

Mobile Is Eating The World: Benedict Evans of Andreesen Horowitz shares his presentation from the WSJD conference that every marketer should see.

How To Take Advantage Of The Top Two Motivations For Using Apps: Loneliness And Boredom: Important advice to take note of when considering your next branded app.

Snapchat Reaches Out to Potential Partners: Next on Snapchat’s monetization docket is its strategic partnerships with media companies to deliver information to Gen Z’s platform of choice.

Tencent Owns 3 Of The World’s 5 Biggest Social Networks: A visual presentation of exactly how many users Tencent commands and where they fit in to the social networking landscape.

Connecting the Mobile Game Marketing Dots: [a]listdaily talks to Christian Calderon, head of marketing at Dots to see what strategies lie behind the wildly popular mobile game.

Also, if you’re not signed up for our next [a]list summit on Dec. 3rd, you’ll want to reserve your spot now. Spots are filling up and we’re focusing on the 5 biggest pain points for brand marketers as they address mobile with full force this year. Get all the details at alistsummit.com.

 

CREATIVE: Tim & Eric Live That Totinos Life

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Tim & Eric are absolute professionals when it comes to masterful mimicry of late-night infomercial type ads, infusing the low budget sleaze with their heightened brand of weird. It’s why we love them. So it makes sense that the duo has worked on real ads for real companies; most notably, their recent masterpiece with Jeff Goldblum for GE.

You’ll need to prepare yourself for their newest collaboration with bite-sized frozen pizza connoiseurs Totinos, however, as you enter the nightmarishly funny world of pizza freaks. Totinos has also launched a fake lifestyle site complete with phony products and Buzzfeed-esque articles like “16 Signs You Are A Pizza” and how to create a “Pizza roll Finger Cozy.” The pizza makers clearly know their audience’s humor preferences.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=NAalGQ5LSpA

https://youtube.com/watch?v=CcnNZji_Gtc

Top Instagram Videos For The Week

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This week’s top ten Instagram videos continue to surge in popularity, with the likes of GoPro, Victoria’s Secret and Foot Locker continuing to hold places in the top ten. However, along with the top ten rankings here, Adweek believes that Apple could learn a thing or two from what most of these companies, particularly Instagram, are doing.

With its combination of its first-person camera technology and integration into social marketing, GoPro has amassed a huge audience on the Instagram video front, and managed to stand out from the pack when it comes to entertaining said audience.

How could Apple learn from this By taking a similar approach with its social media, something it’s been shying away from, despite its impressive line of smartphones, tablets and other technology. In addition, taking advantage of seasonal events, like Halloween, pays off for social videos of this type, since four of the top ten entries this week have something spookily themed around the yearly event.

With its latest video ad, which features Meg the Lioness walking around with a GoPro strapped to her back, GoPro highlights the convenient use of its technology, while providing a perspective that all other video manufacturers cannot duplicate. As a result, it’s no wonder the video garnered 163,000 likes, with over 2,000 comments. The company’s Instagram channel current has 3.3 million followers and climbing.

The top ten list is as follows:

NYX Cosmetics: Halloween is in the air for this company’s latest video, featuring some dazzling make-up work.

GoPro: the aforementioned lion video we described above

Foot Locker: Chicago Bull star Derrick Rose recently stopped by the Chicago based Foot Locker to meet fans and launch his new D Rose 5 Boost line

Victoria’s Secret: the company’s new Holiday Catalogue definitely delivers an eyeful

Justin Bieber: the pop star got his Power Ranger on for Halloween

NBA: the Miami Heat’s James Ennis delivers a powerful dunk in the league’s best video highlight

The Ellen Show: highlights from a recent visit to a haunted house certainly made fans of the popular daytime show quite happy

Disneyland: want to see what kind of work goes into making a fantastic looking pumpkin This video shows a quick carving

Michael Kors: why arrive to a party in a plain look when you can clearly arrive in style, as part of the company’s #ToTheMan line-up

Mercedes Benz: finally, this Instagram video features the thrill of taking a B Class B250 from 0-100 kilometers in a matter of seconds

 

Behind Microsoft’s New ‘Halo’ Championship Series

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There’s no better time to be a fan of the Halo first-person shooter series. With The Master chief Collection making its debut on Xbox One next week, and the all-new Halo 5: Guardians debuting next year, the series’ popularity will no doubt be at an all-time high — which is all the more reason to give it a primary focus in eSports.

The Halo Championship Series will serve as a partnership between 343 Industries (developer of the franchise’s latest entries), Microsoft, Twitch, the ESL and other smaller entities. With it, the goal is to boost the series’ community, while also adding tournament-enabled opportunities for players to prove what they have.

The inaugural season for the Championship Series will kick off with the debut of Master Chief Collection, and run through March 2015. However, Microsoft and 343 don’t expect it to be up to full speed until Guardians makes its debut in fall 2015, according to Polygon.

Primary focus for the HCS league will be on Halo 2: Anniversary, one of the highlighted inclusions for Master Chief Collection, as well as other variable multiplayer components. Media director Che Chou explained what the primary focus will be with the group. “We looked at a lot of different ways to handle Halo eSports,” Chou explains.

“It’s never been particularly organized, there’s no great structure,” Chou said. “Every league has different standards. We wanted to create a centralized system. We look at what Valve and Riot are doing at the forefront of eSports, and also admire that they’re flexible and always changing.”

For now, precise details on tournament play within the Series hasn’t been broken down yet, but Microsoft intends to reveal more details once Master Chief Collection debuts as both a retail release and Xbox Live download next week. However, it has been confirmed that the Series will, in fact, be open to all qualifying players, across desegregated brackets — so both males and females will be able to take part.

However, Choi stated that “a gender-specific league is not what Halo is about.”

“There’s nothing in the handbook, but we would prefer competitions be non-segregated, inclusive and open to the age of majority,” added 343i Community Director Andy Dudynsky. “We certainly imagine both genders will be competing on an even playing field.”

Move over, DOTA 2 and League of Legends, you may have some competition yet . . .

CREATIVE: Christmas Arrives Early With #MontyThePenguin

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John Lewis’ new spot for the holidays that begins airing this Friday shows that toys are much more than the sum of their parts: they are fuel for the imagination, they are companionship and they are formative.

Showing the friendship between a boy and his penguin Monty set to the John Lennon’s “Real Love,” performed by Tom Odell, the ad segues from vignette to vignette of the things they do together. When winter sets in, it becomes clearer to the boy what Monty is missing.

The campaign also partners with Samsung to create an in-store experience called Monty’s Den and story apps on iPad and Android. Of course, there are Monty plushies as well.

CREATIVE: Gap Shows Their Interactive Stripes

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Electronic music artist Blood Orange has teamed up with Gap to lend the “Dress Normal” campaign a bit of musical luster with a full-on interactive campaign. Gapgiftguide.com takes you into an augmented reality experience where users are able to use their webcam to strum striped clothes and remix Blood Orange’s song “It Is What It Is,” which they can then share on social media.

“Play Your Stripes encapsulates the lighter tone of our Dress Normal Holiday campaign, by reinventing the idea of gifting crazy stripe knitwear for a digitally focused audience. It also reflects the increasing focus on digital and social media engagement we have been building toward as a brand,” said Gap’s Global Chief Marketing Officer, Seth Farbman.

“We’re inviting our customers to put a smile on the face of family and friends by sharing their musical talents in a fun and highly seasonal way. Gap’s first store sold jeans and records, so it is fitting in the year of our 45th anniversary to have a link back to our musical heritage, but in a way that will resonate with today’s youth culture.”

While this is a fun, interactive extension of Gap’s larger “Dress Normal” campaign, the campaign has gotten a lot of flack for declining sales when attempting to tap into the normcore trend that Gap’s current demographic sees no irony in.

Still, Gap is continuing to find its place and is banking on steering it’s mall-shopping ship to hipper waters by rounding up an of-the-moment creatives like Sofia Coppola, Zosia Mamet, Elizabeth Moss and more to bolster their new image.