L’Oreal suspends advertising spending on Twitter

L’Oréal has paused advertising spending on Twitter. This is because major brands and marketing groups are nervous about the proliferation of inappropriate content on Elon Musk-owned platforms.

The decision by the world’s largest cosmetics maker will be made in just a few days Musk completes $44 billion acquisition On the social media group .

L’Oreal declined to comment. In a statement provided to Reuters after the publication, a company spokesperson said it had “made no decision to suspend advertising” on its platform.Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment. did not.*

Musk to Marketers, Twitter Never “Free for All Healthscape”even as executives at some of the world’s largest ad groups have been reluctant to make their concerns public, some clients are conducting private reviews and, in some cases, curbing exposure. said.

“Quiet smoking cessation is on the rise,” said one advertising executive.

Twitter has put renewed pressure on itself this week to reassure the advertisers who make up the majority of the company’s $5 billion in annual revenue.

In an email sent to one media agency reviewed by the Financial Times, the social media group asked brands to “please be patient while we go through this transition,” saying it had not changed its moderation policy and “Warm and welcoming to all.”

Musk told brands in a conference call with advertisers on Twitter on Wednesday that he plans to offer different stages of content moderation, similar to a movie rating system, according to three people familiar with the conversation. rice field. He also reassured the caller that the company has no plans to retire its content moderation role, one of the people said.

But on Wednesday, Musk appeared to publicly deny marketers’ concerns. tweet your vote Ask whether advertisers should stand for free speech or political “correctness.”

L’Oréal is one of the world’s top 10 advertisers, spending over €10 billion advertising cosmetics, perfumes and shampoos last year alone. The company only allocates a small portion of its marketing budget to his Twitter and spends more on TikTok and Instagram. These focus on image creation and brand his influencers.

The beauty company’s decision is one sign of broader anxiety among advertisers about Twitter, and follows a similar decision by General Motors last week.

The largest U.S. automaker said it had “temporarily suspended” paid advertising for its services “as a normal course of business with significant changes to its media platforms.”

Interpublic, one of the world’s largest ad groups, has also advised customers to stop spending on Twitter next week.

Morning Brew first reported advice that the US conglomerate behind McCann and Mullen Lowe should see Twitter’s plans “more clear” and the “organization needed” to ensure the platform is “trustworthy and secure.” He told the customer that they should wait until they had the “ability”.

Musk has previously said he hopes to loosen content restrictions and lift permanent user bans, which could lead to proliferation of toxicity and abuse among some advertisers. Concerns are being raised. Next week’s US midterm elections are adding to concerns about the spread of misinformation and violent content online.

The world’s richest person says Twitter’s approach to “brand safety” — an industry term for the risk of ads appearing alongside questionable content or misinformation — hasn’t changed.

40 civic groups signed an open letter on Tuesday to Twitter’s top marketing clients, including Amazon, Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble, to stop all advertising if new owners undermine community standards. The group said it was concerned that Twitter’s initiative to moderate content would be “watered down.”

Multiple advertising industry executives said: Musk Ultimately, he needed the financial backing of the industry to realize his ambitions for Twitter and, as a result, had to take their concerns about problematic content seriously.

Musk has promised Twitter to create a “content moderation council” with “broadly diverse perspectives” and that blocked users will have to wait until the company establishes “a clear process for doing so.” It said it was not possible to undo blocked users.

At the same time, the company has suffered an increase in hateful rhetoric since Musk took over. Musk himself posted and later removed an article containing an unsubstantiated conspiracy theory about Nancy Pelosi’s attack on her husband.

Other ad industry executives and brands are concerned about Mr. Musk’s plans for a major layoff at Twitter and whether it will affect brand safety and ad sales teams. Some were unnerved by the resignation on Tuesday of Twitter’s chief commercial officer, Sarah Personette, who was the company’s primary contact.

*This article has been revised to include a L’Oréal statement provided to Reuters.