Less anger and hate: Unilever threatens Facebook with advertising boycott
The Dutch-British consumer goods group Unilever is threatening Facebook and Google with no more advertising on the online platforms if they continue to "fail to protect children, promote hatred or create division in society".
In a speech scheduled for Monday at the annual Interactive Advertising Bureau Conference in Palm Desert, Keith Weed, Unilever's chief marketing officer, will set the tone by saying that as a brand-led company, Unilever needs its consumers to trust its brands and will fight back against a less-than-transparent environment.
"As one of the largest advertisers in the world, we can't have an environment where our customers don't trust what they see online. And we cannot continue to support a digital supply chain - which, after all, delivers more than a quarter of our advertising to our customers - that is sometimes only marginally better than a swamp in terms of transparency," said Weed. "Unilever will not invest in platforms or environments that do not adequately protect our children or create division in society and promote anger and hate."
Targeted use of advertising
"It will be a top priority in the future to invest exclusively in responsible platforms that want to do good in society," emphasizes Weed. Unilever is currently the world's second-largest marketing investor after Procter & Gamble, spending around €7.7 billion on its brands last year - including PG Tips, Marmite and Dove. The company has already significantly reduced its ad production as part of a cost-saving campaign. Unilever has also halved the number of advertising agencies it uses to 1500. (pte)
