Any hope X's embattled CEO Linda Yaccarino might have had that advertisers who have fled the platform would return were probably squashed on Wednesday, when owner Elon Musk accused them of "blackmail," and bluntly told them, "go fuck yourself" during a high-profile interview in New York.
Yaccarino attempted to quell advertiser unrest with a Wednesday evening post
Yaccarino attempted to quell advertiser unrest with a Wednesday evening post
in which she downplayed her boss's comments as merely a "candid" interview, and said that X is enabling something called "an information independence" that might make some uncomfortable.
"And here’s my perspective when it comes to advertising," she added. "X is standing at a unique and amazing intersection of Free Speech and Main Street—and the X community is powerful and is here to welcome you. To our partners who believe in our meaningful work—Thank You."
Wednesday's remarks were just the latest in a series of broadsides that Musk has aimed at the ad community since taking over the former Twitter last year, but this one felt decisive. And Yaccarino likely knows it's increasingly looking as though there's no legitimate way forward for X as an advertising channel. Musk is simply too volatile, a loose-cannon who shoots from the hip with zero regard for the consequences.
The controversy stems from Musk's on-stage appearance at the The New York Times' DealBook Summit on Wednesday. Early in the 90-minute Q&A, Musk was asked by journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin about the advertiser backlash to his promotion of an antisemitic claim that the Jewish community supports "dialectical hatred against whites," to which he replied: "You have said the actual truth."
Several major advertisers, including Apple, IBM, Disney, Comcast/NBCUniversal and Paramount, responded by pausing their advertising on the platform.
Advertisers pausing their activity is standard practice in response to comments or actions they deem offensive, but they generally tend to come back (witness the quiet return to Facebook after the mass advertiser exodus in 2020 as part of the Stop Hate for Profit initiative).
But their recent withdrawal seemed to rankle Musk, who came out swinging during Wednesday's event. "I hope they stop. Don't advertise" he told Sorkin in typically truculent fashion (see the exchange above). "If somebody's going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself. Go. Fuck. Yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is."
He then jauntily waved and said "Hey Bob," a presumed reference to Disney chief Robert Iger, an outspoken critic of Musk who was in attendance last night. "That's how I feel. Don't advertise."
It was a frankly astonishing comment from the leader of any company, but especially one that draws approximately 90% of its revenues from advertising.
But Musk wasn't finished.
A clearly stunned Sorkin then asked Musk if has contemplated X continuing with a non ad-based model, presumably supported by a subscription model introduced this year. Gesturing towards Yaccarino, Sorkin said "Linda Yaccarino's right here, and she's got to sell advertising."
But Musk made it clear that he would assume no personal responsibility for what comes next. The advertising boycott, he said, "is going to kill the company." But, he added, the "whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company. Everyone will document [that] in great detail," he said.
When Sorkin responded that advertisers would counter it was actually Musk who killed the company, the world's richest man wasn't buying it. "Oh yeah? Tell it to Earth." (Which increasingly seems like a place Musk doesn't spend a whole lot of time these days.)
Musk is trying to portray himself as a hero of free speech and a victim of advertisers' capriciousness, but the number of brands willing to believe that X is capable of offering any kind of meaningful solution to their business problems—and have no problem discerning between free speech and hate speech—is no doubt dwindling by the second.
Asked by The Message if X can come back from Musk's latest remarks, Cairns Oneil president Devon MacDonald offered a blunt assessment: "No."
X has already demonstrated that it's unsafe for brands, and advertisers should now look at Musk as they would any influencer, he said. "Is this someone we want to partner with? Is this someone whose comments represent our brand and can help us with our objectives? I can’t see any major brand answering yes to that, especially in a critical time in the economy where tough decisions around budgets and choices are being made for the upcoming year.
"He has demonstrated zero appetite for curbing an alarming rise in hateful content on the platform, and worse, he appears too indifferent to the concerns of advertisers to ever make them feel truly safe.
Horizon Media Canada GM Kevin Kivi, meanwhile, said that Musk's ownership has been "tumultuous," exposing brands to a "toxic environment" characterized by harmful and disrespectful speech.
"Musk's words and actions further threaten to erode brands' trust in the platform, making recovery a formidable task," he said, although he added that Horizon will "continue to collaborate closely with each brand, providing tailored guidance to inform their social media spending and engagement decisions."
Meanwhile, Lou Paskalis, founder of marketing consultancy AJL Advisory and the former head of global media at Bank of America, told Reuters that Musk's outburst represents the "closing chapter" for the platform as an advertising vehicle. "They're not going to forget that," he said.
That sentiment was echoed by veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher, who told CNN on Thursday that Musk's attempt to pin the blame for the platform's woes on advertisers was misguided. "He caused the problem, and he wants to blame them for exercising their First Amendment right not to advertise on his terrible platform," she said.
Referencing fictional tech executive Lukas Matsson telling Tom Wambsgans in the series finale of HBO's Succession that he needed a "pain sponge" capable of absorbing all of the negativity directed at him, Swisher said that's the role Yaccarino is currently playing for Musk.
Recently, reports have surfaced that marketing leaders and peers have urged Yaccarino to walk away from X before her reputation is completely destroyed. And following Wednesday's debacle, would anyone be surprised if she—and the advertisers she relies on—were to tell Musk, "G.F.Y.?"
"And here’s my perspective when it comes to advertising," she added. "X is standing at a unique and amazing intersection of Free Speech and Main Street—and the X community is powerful and is here to welcome you. To our partners who believe in our meaningful work—Thank You."
Wednesday's remarks were just the latest in a series of broadsides that Musk has aimed at the ad community since taking over the former Twitter last year, but this one felt decisive. And Yaccarino likely knows it's increasingly looking as though there's no legitimate way forward for X as an advertising channel. Musk is simply too volatile, a loose-cannon who shoots from the hip with zero regard for the consequences.
The controversy stems from Musk's on-stage appearance at the The New York Times' DealBook Summit on Wednesday. Early in the 90-minute Q&A, Musk was asked by journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin about the advertiser backlash to his promotion of an antisemitic claim that the Jewish community supports "dialectical hatred against whites," to which he replied: "You have said the actual truth."
Several major advertisers, including Apple, IBM, Disney, Comcast/NBCUniversal and Paramount, responded by pausing their advertising on the platform.
Advertisers pausing their activity is standard practice in response to comments or actions they deem offensive, but they generally tend to come back (witness the quiet return to Facebook after the mass advertiser exodus in 2020 as part of the Stop Hate for Profit initiative).
But their recent withdrawal seemed to rankle Musk, who came out swinging during Wednesday's event. "I hope they stop. Don't advertise" he told Sorkin in typically truculent fashion (see the exchange above). "If somebody's going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself. Go. Fuck. Yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is."
He then jauntily waved and said "Hey Bob," a presumed reference to Disney chief Robert Iger, an outspoken critic of Musk who was in attendance last night. "That's how I feel. Don't advertise."
It was a frankly astonishing comment from the leader of any company, but especially one that draws approximately 90% of its revenues from advertising.
But Musk wasn't finished.
A clearly stunned Sorkin then asked Musk if has contemplated X continuing with a non ad-based model, presumably supported by a subscription model introduced this year. Gesturing towards Yaccarino, Sorkin said "Linda Yaccarino's right here, and she's got to sell advertising."
But Musk made it clear that he would assume no personal responsibility for what comes next. The advertising boycott, he said, "is going to kill the company." But, he added, the "whole world will know that those advertisers killed the company. Everyone will document [that] in great detail," he said.
When Sorkin responded that advertisers would counter it was actually Musk who killed the company, the world's richest man wasn't buying it. "Oh yeah? Tell it to Earth." (Which increasingly seems like a place Musk doesn't spend a whole lot of time these days.)
Musk is trying to portray himself as a hero of free speech and a victim of advertisers' capriciousness, but the number of brands willing to believe that X is capable of offering any kind of meaningful solution to their business problems—and have no problem discerning between free speech and hate speech—is no doubt dwindling by the second.
Asked by The Message if X can come back from Musk's latest remarks, Cairns Oneil president Devon MacDonald offered a blunt assessment: "No."
X has already demonstrated that it's unsafe for brands, and advertisers should now look at Musk as they would any influencer, he said. "Is this someone we want to partner with? Is this someone whose comments represent our brand and can help us with our objectives? I can’t see any major brand answering yes to that, especially in a critical time in the economy where tough decisions around budgets and choices are being made for the upcoming year.
"He has demonstrated zero appetite for curbing an alarming rise in hateful content on the platform, and worse, he appears too indifferent to the concerns of advertisers to ever make them feel truly safe.
Horizon Media Canada GM Kevin Kivi, meanwhile, said that Musk's ownership has been "tumultuous," exposing brands to a "toxic environment" characterized by harmful and disrespectful speech.
"Musk's words and actions further threaten to erode brands' trust in the platform, making recovery a formidable task," he said, although he added that Horizon will "continue to collaborate closely with each brand, providing tailored guidance to inform their social media spending and engagement decisions."
Meanwhile, Lou Paskalis, founder of marketing consultancy AJL Advisory and the former head of global media at Bank of America, told Reuters that Musk's outburst represents the "closing chapter" for the platform as an advertising vehicle. "They're not going to forget that," he said.
That sentiment was echoed by veteran tech journalist Kara Swisher, who told CNN on Thursday that Musk's attempt to pin the blame for the platform's woes on advertisers was misguided. "He caused the problem, and he wants to blame them for exercising their First Amendment right not to advertise on his terrible platform," she said.
Referencing fictional tech executive Lukas Matsson telling Tom Wambsgans in the series finale of HBO's Succession that he needed a "pain sponge" capable of absorbing all of the negativity directed at him, Swisher said that's the role Yaccarino is currently playing for Musk.
Recently, reports have surfaced that marketing leaders and peers have urged Yaccarino to walk away from X before her reputation is completely destroyed. And following Wednesday's debacle, would anyone be surprised if she—and the advertisers she relies on—were to tell Musk, "G.F.Y.?"
