Unilever, the global consumer goods company, became the latest major advertiser to pull its marketing dollars from Facebook, today saying in a 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.
Unilever is one of the world’s biggest advertisers and Facebook’s 30th largest spender, making its statements on the heels of Verizon’s announcing their own pause on Facebook advertising. Markets did not respond well to the news: shares of both Twitter and Facebook dropped 7% in intraday trading.
Unilever said in its statement that “there is much more to be done…in the areas of divisiveness and hate speech during this polarized election period in the U.S.”, referencing its Responsibility Framework “that calls for more responsible platforms”.
