Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke at the same event where Elon Musk rejected the advertising boycott and outlined the logic behind the move. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Market intelligence firm Sensor Tower estimates that about half of Twitter's top 100 advertisers have stopped advertising on the site entirely since Musk's takeover in October 2022. The list of remaining brands, which includes Amazon and Mondelez, is getting shorter by the day.
The Telegraph reported this month that the UK government had also stopped advertising on the site, mirroring similar moves by European governments. Commission. Musk's «real truth» remark drew rare direct criticism from the White House.
Musk deplored the tweet, calling it “the dumbest post I've ever made.”
“I may have handed a loaded gun to anti-Semites,” he said. «I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention.»
But he also tried to downplay his fiery style, saying: «Sometimes I'll say something stupid.»
The bombshell that he dumped on stage only worsened his status as a pariah in the advertising world.
Paul Bainsfair, chief executive of the IPA, which represents British advertising agencies, said Musk's comments were «the exact opposite of the reassurance that advertisers and their agencies are looking for.»
«Twitter was once held in high regard. our industry's platform… However, given recent activity, is it any surprise that some advertisers are directly responding to Musk's words and actions?
One industry source says the reaction to Musk's comments has been «incredulous,» adding: «He's essentially firing the platform — intentionally or not.»
Musk's outbursts have once again undermined the efforts of his newly appointed chief executive director Linda Yaccarino to restore the relationship between Twitter and advertising.
Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino's efforts to bring advertisers back to the platform are faltering due to Elon Musk's outbursts. Photo: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images
Yaccarino, a former advertising tycoon at NBCUniversal, recently launched a charm offensive in a desperate attempt to win back the trust of brands.
Earlier this month, she flew to London to woo executives in SoHo, meeting with figures such as Mark Reid , chief executive of WPP.
In an attempt to smooth things over after Musk's comments, Yaccarino on Thursday said: «X stands at a unique and surprising intersection of free speech and the high street.»
For his part, Musk has argued that concerns about his tweets and, more broadly, hate speech on the platform are overblown.
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He has accused campaign groups of scaring off advertisers and sued media activist groups Matters and the Center to Combat Digital Hate.
Musk also criticized the Anti-Defamation League, a US group that campaigns against the Anti-Defamation League. -Semitism.
The billionaire said this week that he should be judged by his actions, such as the success of Tesla or Starlink, rather than by outlandish remarks on the Internet. “I see a lot of people who care about looking good, but they do bad things, to hell with them,” he added.
Despite Musk’s enormous personal wealth, Twitter is currently on shaky financial ground. position The billionaire grossly overpaid for the social network, valuing it at $44 billion at a time when tech stocks were falling.
In October, he estimated its value at about $19 billion.
Musk has been trying to encourage Twitter users to pay a monthly fee for the site to generate new sources of income. However, this is not enough to compensate for the outflow of advertising. The billionaire estimates Twitter will earn $3 billion this year, up from $5 billion in 2021.
The takeover left Twitter with about $13 billion in debt, and Musk owing about $1.5 billion a year in interest payments to a number of banks.
Musk could continue to use his huge stake in Tesla, worth about $100 billion, to prop up the company, but he previously said he would not sell any more shares for two years.
p>Bruce Daisley, the former head of Twitter in the UK, says: “They are losing more money, and internally there is already talk of more job cuts.”
The exodus of advertisers threatens to “kill the company,” Musk said on stage , adding: “The whole world will know that these advertisers killed the company.”
Industry observers speculate that Musk knows Twitter is in a death spiral and the only thing left to do is blame the brands for the boycott .
“Musk seems to be preparing everyone for the fact that he will end this,” says Daisley. “He doesn’t want to be held responsible for failures, so he’s ready to blame Disney and global brands: “Look what you made me do.”
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