By: Adnan Arnautlija
GOLDEN DRUM MOVES TO LJUBLJANA, 18. TO 21. OCTOBER
A meeting on repositioning of the Golden Drum festival was held yesterday. The most important decision is that the festival will be moved to Ljubljana (Ljubljana Castle), whose charm will surely attract more participants to the Golden Drum. Another important decision concerns the competitive section – the introduction of regional Golden Drum Adriatic awards, by which the Golden Drum wants to bring its competitive program closer to the region. One evening will therefore be dedicated to the Adriatic region, within which there should also be a big Adriatic / Balkan party (the event is yet to be named).
Other news that could lead to a resurgence of the Golden Drum will be communicated in the near future.
PRESIDENT AND DIRECTORS OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF ADVERTISING INDUSTRIES OF SLOVENIA, CROATIA, AND SERBIA AT A MEETING IN BELGRADE ON 10, 11 JUNE
At the initiative of the President of UEPS, Viktor Nikolić, presidents and directors of national associations of the advertising industries of Slovenia (SOZ), Croatia (HURA) and Serbia (UEPS), will meet in Belgrade on 10 and 11 June. The meeting will discuss a number of issues related to the promotion of cooperation and creation of conditions for the successful development of the communications industry in the region.
A SEXBOT HACKED THE LATE DAVID CARR’S TWITTER
A couple of days ago we published a great column by Branimir Brkljač, which dealt with the digital afterlife. Now, one of the vulnerabilities of this life that we leave on the social networks has been illustrated in a very disgraceful way. Twitter account of a renowned journalist David Carr, who passed away in 2015, was taken over by a sexbot named Miranda Davis.
Twitter’s tech team was able to fix the situation within the course of an hour or so, after many of Carr’s 453,000 followers on the social platform reacted with tweets about the development, and they represented a mix of disbelief, disgust and humor. Carr would have probably appreciated their timely declarations.
One of the truly new things born from the social media age involves “digital death.” People who pass away leave behind Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, and their friends and families can visit such pages as if they are virtual gravesites.
BUDWEISER DELIVERS BASKETBALL FANS THE FIRST NBA VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCE
Budweiser is playing the virtual reality game, literally, by sponsoring a VR experience with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are the first NBA team to build VR technology into their official app, and Budweiser was giving away cardboard VR headsets at the NBA playoff game in Cleveland, through which fans can view basketball-themed footage. The cardboard headset also doubles as a handy beer carrying case.
“As a company, we are always looking for new ways to bring fans closer to the teams they love, and virtual reality is a big part of that,” said Lucas Herscovici, vp of consumer connections at Anheuser Busch, in a statement. “The Cavs have been great partners in helping us activate this technology in the NBA and we look forward to continuing to evolve this activation.”
TOBACCO GIANTS LOSE HIGH COURT BATTLE OVER PLAIN PACKAGING LAWS
The world’s biggest tobacco brands have lost a case in the UK High Court against a law that will require all cigarette packets to carry a plain “standardised” design.
The legal challenge was rejected Thursday, and as a result the packaging clampdown will go ahead as planned.
Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco International (JTI) had sought to quash the new legislation, challenging its legality on the grounds that it would take brands intellectual property.
The judge’s decision comes just one day ahead of the initial date set for the implementation of the law in the UK, which will now go ahead as planned today (20 May), and follows similar action from the European High Court, which recently rejected a series of legal challenges around the sale of tobacco.
The verdict means all distinctive branding, fonts and bright colours will disappear from cartons to be replaced by a uniform green design adorned with health warnings.
