L’Oréal and GM Halt Twitter Ads After Top Advertising Firm Calls Elon Musk Takeover “Fucked”
Written by ABC AUDIO on November 4, 2022
A leading advertising company has recommended that its clients stop shopping for Twitter with a “messed” status from Elon Musk as owner.
The Inter-Public Group, known as the IPG, is the parent company of Universal McCann. This week, their media intelligence branch, MAGNAsent an email warning against working with the platform during the hostile transition.
“The current situation is unpredictable and chaotic, and bad actors and unsafe behavior thrive in such an environment,” the message states.
Starting from Thursday, L’Oreal and GM suspend advertising spending on Twitter. Unfortunately, more examples like this are expected in the coming weeks.
Ahead of this grim suggestion, Musk tried to convince advertisers that Twitter was still “brand safe.” Obviously, he wasn’t very convincing, which prompted MAGNA to move forward with their directions to marketers and agencies.
While Musk struggles to keep his ad dollars flowing, his hateful promotion of free speech undermines his efforts to keep companies interested in having Twitter in their marketing budget. Musk has stated that he will reactivate former President Donald Trump’s account after it was deactivated in January 2021 for spreading misinformation. Musk has also imposed mass layoffs at the tech giant, fired the entire board of directors and made himself the sole director.
Another concern is billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and hers Kingdom Holding Company joint investment $1.89 billion in the existing Twitter share. The move makes him the company’s largest shareholder, aside from Musk. Politicians have expressed disdain for this massive shareholding, given the Prince has been accused of censoring political speech.
These factors, along with several others, are not ideal for advertisers, who prefer not to have their names listed in the brewing storm. Some, such as Twitter’s chief customer officer, Sarah Persona, has willingly left the company after days of change and controversy. Personettes act as proxies between Twitter and advertisers, often helping to bridge the gap and start a smooth campaign.
Ads make up more than 90% of Twitter’s revenue. However, after tweeting his disapproval of the ads on the site, it’s no surprise that his relationship with one of the world’s biggest marketing companies began to sour.
