After pausing its advertising as part of a boycott of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, citing hate speech and the polarized atmosphere in the United States, Unilever, one of the world’s largest advertisers, has announced it will resume marketing campaigns across all three of the platforms in January 2021.
The boycott began for the global brand in June, based on its “Responsibility Framework, which is rooted in the belief that we must create a diverse partner network that promotes a positive digital advertising ecosystem for consumers, brands, and society,” said Unilever.
The decision to resume advertising is based on what Unilever said is its encouragement “by the platforms’ new commitments and reporting to monitor progress.”
According to Luis Di Como, EVP Global Media, Unilever, the boycott was a matter of acting responsibly as a brand.
“We have a unique role and responsibility to address the complexities of the social media ecosystem,” said Di Como.
“Our long-term goal is to work with our partners and the industry to drive systemic change. We are encouraged by the commitments the platforms are making to build healthier environments for consumers, brands and society in alignment with the principles of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media. This is why we plan to end our social media investment pause in the U.S. in January. We will continue to reassess our position as necessary.”
Facebook responded to the resumption of advertising with a statement saying, “We look forward to our continued partnership in 2021 and remain committed to our work with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media to fight harmful content online.”
