4 years ago
In a move that could hurt Facebook, its top advertisers are abandoning it. In the last 24 hours, Unilever, Coke, Levi Strauss and Hershey have all announced they will pull advertising from Facebook, and in some cases from other social networks for some time. Shares in both Facebook and Twitter are getting smashed as a result.
In recent days Honda, Patagonia, Verizon, Ben & Jerry’s, The North Face, Eddie Bauer, REI, Magnolia Pictures, and Viber also announced bans for varying periods. That brings the number of companies participating in the boycott to over 130. The number of individual brands is even higher.
The #stophateforprofit campaign is gaining momentum. It has already drawn an initial retreat from Facebook which announced that it will now put warning labels on posts by politicians that break its rules, however, this is unlikely to be enough. Its advertisers have also called it out for promising action and failing to deliver.
For Unilever, which also includes Twitter in the ban, the blockage affects only the US, but will stay in place until the end of the year. In a statement, it warned of divisiveness and hate speech during this polarized election period in the U.S. and said, “Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society.”
According to the statement, “Given our Responsibility Framework and the polarized atmosphere in the U.S., we have decided that starting now through at least the end of the year, we will not run brand advertising in social media newsfeed platforms Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in the U.S. Continuing to advertise on these platforms at this time would not add value to people and society.
We will be monitoring ongoing and will revisit our current position if necessary.” Coca-Cola CEO and Chairman, James Quincey issued a statement that read, “There is no place for racism in the world and there is no place for racism on social media. ”
“The Coca-Cola Company will pause paid advertising on all social media platforms globally for at least 30 days. We will take this time to reassess our advertising policies to determine whether revisions are needed. We also expect greater accountability and transparency from our social media partners,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a statement to CNN, Hershey’s said, “We do not believe that Facebook is effectively managing violent and divisive speech on their platform. Despite repeated assertions by Facebook to take action, we have not seen meaningful change.”
The spokesperson added, as a company, we stand for the values of togetherness and inclusion and we are resolute in our commitment to make a difference and be part of positive change.” The Hershey’s ban is in place for July.
Late this afternoon (AEST) the iconic fashion brand Levi Strauss also joined the boycott. In a post, its CMO Jen Sey wrote, “As a company driven by our values, we at Levi Strauss & Co. have a responsibility to speak up and take action when we see major issues arise that impact our employees, fans and community at large.”
However, some industry observers such as Dr Augustine Fou, a high profile ad fraud researcher remained skeptical.
On Linkedin, he wrote, “I caution folks about giving brands credit too early for jumping on the #StopHateForProfit bandwagon. How much was their actual [spending] on Facebook? What exactly are they “turning off?” and how long? Did they also turn off programmatic media spend that was funding hate/disinformation?”
