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My friends at the Photo Center NW are always showcasing new work and ideas that help progress the craft of photography. I’m a huge fan (and an honorary board member) of PCNW and this is a cool event they are putting on that I wanted y’all to know about… and it’s happening THIS WEEK. A 24-hour photo marathon going down on the longest day of the year June 21 (that’s in 3 days). Rafael Soldi from the PCNW explains more and interviews two wildly creative photographers about what sustains their creativity. Take it away Rafael. Thanks Chase. There is an oft-quoted line, supposedly from Pablo Picasso: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” In two recent lectures hosted at Photo Center NW, we heard from two very different photographers who shared commanding stories about finding their creative force. And sometimes, as we learned, a creative force needs to be defended from external pressures to follow a prescribed route. What sustains creativity? What are the forces that keep artists creating, and photographers inspired to share their work? We were compelled to learn more about what experiences had shaped the creative work of these two artists: Diana Markosian is a documentary photographer who at age 22 earned the Reuters photo of the year award; Grace Weston is an accomplished artist who creates constructed narrative images in elaborate studio scenes. Their stories of “un-learning” traditional modes of producing artwork, or rejecting values associated with their field demonstrated that creative hurdles are ever-present, and that they can come from personal choices and external forces alike. As the Photo Center embarks on Long Shot, a 24-hour photo marathon, we share these stories of personal growth, in hopes that other photographers will join us and share their perspective with the world. Long Shot invites hundreds of photographers to participate by photographing anywhere they are in the world on June 21, the longest day of the year. Tell us more about how you evolved your work beyond what was “expected” from a photographic project to what you really were passionate about? Grace Weston: It was not a fast transition. I got to a point where my more formal, out in the field, black & white work was no longer fulfilling me. I felt uninspired and had no idea what to do next. Suddenly embarking on studio work turned everything upside down and put me back at square one. I had a lot to learn, and STILL had no idea what I wanted to shoot. I headed into still life, and made some “romantic” looking pieces, which were sort of “in style” at the time. But beauty has never been enough for me in a piece. I wanted to tell something, and found myself drawn to narrative. Magritte inspired my first successful narrative piece. I always loved the narrative found in surrealism, with its nod to dream life and the subconscious. That first piece excited me and I knew I was on the right path. Diana Markosian: I isolate myself by traveling to some of the most remote corners of the world, immersing myself in a world that is often foreign to me. I stay in these regions for long enough to become almost invisible to my subjects. I try to push myself to find projects, which I can follow through different stages. On a personal level, I try to surround myself by other photographers, artists and people who I admire creatively. This has been the best thing for growth, just always looking for smarter and more creative people to spend time with. Could you address the kind of “re-education” that you underwent about your process? Grace Weston: After years of more formal black and white photography in the field I had the opportunity to assist a studio photographer. It was daunting, but also thrilling to start with a “blank canvas” instead of the “treasure hunting” of my previous work in the field. I didn’t really know if my work would fit in the fine art arena or th

Is it just us or is this German Fanta commercial a whole lot like the Coke Happiness Factory commercials? Of course, Fanta being a division of Coke, we guess we can't much blame Jung Von Matt for giving us an homage. Alex & Steffen did the 2D and 3D work in the video. The video gives us an epic, period piece battle in which a castle full of characters attempts to quell a giant, pillaging robot who, as it turns out, is just a cooler at a family picnic. Leave it to the hot princess to finally vanquish the mechanical foe.

Sapient Nitro is out with its second Cannes-themed inforgraphic, each of which highlights a decade of advertising memes and themes. What we have today, is a look at the sixties and, well, the fact that lots of guys now where red pants. Oh and the fact that Paula Green was a rockstar creative in the 1960's.

In yet another idiotic use of the jack off meme, a video entitled Awkward Shakes treats us to several awkward moment of guys polishing their knob in situations where polishing the knob would normally be taboo. Except, of course, they're not polishing their knobs? All their doing is shaking their protein shake. Where have we seen this before? Aside from everywhere, who can forget the famed Shake Weight? Hmm. maybe this is like a fart. No matter how many time you hear one, it's still funny.

Advertising Agency: Talent, São Paulo, Brazil Chief Creative Officer: João Livi Creative Director: João Livi Copywriter: Ligia Mendes Art Director: Alex Gonçalves Print Producer: Ingo Santos, Matias Santos Art Buyer: Mario Coelho Illustrator: Estúdio Icone

ADOTAS – As you may have noticed, mobile real-time bidding (RTB) has gained popularity recently.  Mobile RTB ad buys were not particularly common as recently as last year, but in just the past 12 months we have seen the market explode. In Q1 2012, mobile RTB ads accounted for only 8% of ads served on mobile devices, but by Q4 2012, the RTB market accounted for 64% of total mobile ad requests. The shift to mobile RTB is well deserved, due to its capability to harness the limitless streams of data that let advertisers intelligently target and serve their ads to consumers. There are many outstanding benefits to mobile RTB for both advertisers and publishers, but in a nutshell: Mobile RTB allows buyers and agencies to accurately target their audience, control their campaigns and give complete transparency, yielding increased return on advertising spend. Mobile RTB gives ad sellers and publishers greater yield optimization, a higher value of inventory, and revenue for display ads sold outside of their direct relationships. Moreover, big brands need comfort that they can handle their big data needs across all audiences, but ROI remains the gaping hole in mobile advertising. In fact, RTB is the killer app for big data, yet to date the missing link has been the ability to use predictive modeling and targeting to harness the oceans of available information. Effectively using RTB depends on how intelligently and efficiently you use big data – this requires a technology that is capable of processing massive amounts of data with great speed, accuracy and — if possible — in real time. First Things First: What is Mobile RTB? Mobile RTB can be broken out into 4 basic components: 1) Bid Requesting Inventory: Advertising exchanges enable their inventory to be bid on by networks, and they provide information with the bid request. This can include the publisher’s name or URL, the ad’s position on the page, the type of ad unit acceptable, latitude and longitude, to name just a few 2) Bid Responding System: The system’s sole job is to ‘answer’ back to the bid request from the ad exchange with a bid price and the creative to be placed.  The bid response first digests the information coming in with the request, then obtains and digests any 3rd-party data available.  This must be done within 100-200 milliseconds before the publisher chooses the highest bidder and places the ad. 3) Data Enrichment: he impression request is enriched by using 3rd-party data partners and through building your own database of 1st-party information. Both are important. 4) Decision Engine: This is what makes or breaks mobile RTB platforms, and what the rest of this article will focus on.  Decision engines are based on predictive models – essentially, they aim to predict future actions based on historical data. Putting Mobile RTB to Work Unlike first generation mobile ad buying platforms, the second-generation mobile RTB ad networks enable advertisers to buy inventory through ad exchange platforms on an impression-by-impression basis. These impressions are bought via an RTB platform, and chosen based on predictive models that tell the platform whether or not the impression fits the advertiser’s desired criteria. A critical variable in the effectiveness of a predictive model within the context of an RTB platform is both the speed and accuracy with which the model can process massive amounts of data. These elements are the key differentiators of a truly real time predictive modeling platform; as such a platform is confronted by constantly expanding data. Real Time Predictive Targeting: Pushing the RTB Barometer What do we mean by “real time predictive modeling”, and why the need for progress?  Recently, we have seen predictive modeling in RTB moving well beyond static activities, such as segmenting and simple retargeting campaigns, toward predictive targeting and real-time decisions. The term “real time” is used to describe how well a predictive modeling s

As the mobile landscape expands, so does the trove of consumer data mobile carriers are sitting on. Enter SAP AG, which is hammering out deals to crunch carriers’ mobile user data and sell it to marketers. AdExchanger talked to Kevin Outcalt, CTO of mobile services at SAP and Guy Rolfe, global mobile practice leader at [...]

There's plenty more fish in the sea, they say, and it turns out they're all more than willing to tell you about Three's new "all you can eat everything" plan. This full CG 30 sec spot by Boys and Girls was character designed, animated and directed by Framestore, all on a remarkably swift three and a half week schedule. VIEW THE SPOT

After six months in beta, staff at Omnicom agency PHD will come into work everyday to play games, following the formalising of an initiative called Source, spearheaded by the worldwide strategy and planning director, Mark Holden.

It's been a little more than a year since Kepler Group was spun off (see AdExchanger's Q&A) from MediaMath, where it had previously been the direct-to-client professional services group. So how's it going for the world's first agency to be incubated within a demand-side platform? Not bad at all. Kepler is hiring up and winning [...]