L'Oréal denies Financial Times report of it suspending Twitter advertising

L'Oréal has denied suspending advertising on Twitter, Reuters said. L'Oréal's spokesperson also confirmed to MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that no such decision has been made. This came shortly after a Financial Times report stating L'Oréal to be the next company to halt ad spend on Twitter following Elon Musk's recent takeover.

General Motors temporarily halted its advertising on Twitter rather quickly after Musk's US$44 billion acquisition deal closed last week. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Twitter for comment.

Advertisers have been skittish ever since Musk took over and this worry has also led to IPG and Havas Media advising their clients to temporarily pause ad spend on Twitter due to moderation concerns. IPG, in particular, told clients to "wait for clarity" on the platform's plans around trust and safety.

In a bid to appease advertisers, Musk said last week that he does not want Twitter to turn into a "free-for-all hellscape" where anything can be said with no consequences. In a letter titled "Dear Twitter Advertisers", which he posted on Twitter, Musk sought to reassure advertisers, saying: "In addition to adhering to the laws of the land, our platform must be warm and welcoming to all, where you can choose your desired experience according to your preferences, just as you can choose, for example, to see movies or play video games ranging from all ages to mature."

(Read also: Twitter's CMO and ad sales chief exit: What's the next move for advertisers?)

He added that Twitter "aspires to be the most respected advertising platform in the world" that strengthens brands and grows enterprise. This signifies a u-turn from Musk's previous comments. In 2019, he said he "hated advertising" and in a since deleted tweet, he said: "The power of corporations to dictate policy is greatly enhanced if Twitter depends on advertising money to survive." Musk even previously said to potential investors in an early presentation for the acquisition that he wanted to move Twitter away from its reliance on advertising, shifting revenue from over 80% last year down to 45%, FT said.

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1188890479401689088

The drama surrounding Twitter continues as Bloomberg reported just yesterday that Musk plans to cut approximately 3,700 jobs at the firm, equivalent to half of the company's workforce, in an attempt to drive down costs.

Last week, he fired Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and CFO Ned Segal. A few days later, media outlets reported a leadership exodus involving CMO Leslie Berland, chief customer officer Sarah Personette, VP of global client solutions Jean-Philippe Maheu, head of engineering Nick Caldwell, and chief people and diversity officer Daland Brand.

At the same time, Musk is also considering having users pay US$8 for Twitter's Blue service which includes the "verified" badge. On the content moderation front, Musk said Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with "widely diverse viewpoints", but added that no changes to Twitter's content moderation policies have been made.

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