Not just banning ads on Facebook and Instagram like other companies, Coca-Cola is going one step ahead to ban advertising on all social media platforms.
Starting July 1st, the Coca-Cola company is going to pause all digital advertising on social media platforms globally for at least 30 days starting July 1st, the soda giant informed on Friday.
In line with the boycott of Facebook and Instagram organized by the Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, and other organizations called the “Stop Hate For Profit” campaign, the Coca-cola has taken this decision. Not just banning ads on Facebook and Instagram like other companies, Coca-Cola is going one step ahead to ban advertising on all social media platforms. The statement suggests that the boycott will hit Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms as well.
“Starting on July 1, The Coca-Cola Company will pause paid advertising on all social media platforms globally for at least 30 days,” a statement posted by Coca-Cola Company CEO James Quincey said on the brand’s website.
“We will take this time to reassess our advertising standards and policies to determine whether revisions are needed internally, and what more we should expect of our social media partners to rid the platforms of hate, violence and inappropriate content. We will let them know we expect greater accountability, action and transparency from them,” he further added.
Earlier on Friday, Verizon joined Unilever as the two largest companies participating in the boycott. Before Coca-Cola’s announcement came, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also announced a series of policy changes that, while not explicitly in response to the boycott, appear designed to try and address many of the criticisms the company has faced of late regarding its lack of moderation of violent threats, hate speech, and misinformation posted by President Donald Trump and other controversial accounts and pages.
“This continues a significant trend of major brands — including Unilever and Verizon — committing to pause Facebook ads for at least the month of July,” said a statement from progressive nonprofit Color of Change, one of the organizers of the boycott. “Since Color Of Change and its partners, including the ADL and NAACP, launched the campaign on June 17, over 100 brands have signed on,” Rashad Robinson, the Color of Change President said on Friday that chocolate brand Hershey’s is also joining the boycott.
And another one – @Hersheys is joining the push to #StopHateForProfit. @Facebook can either implement a civil rights infrastructure or sacrifice their bottom line. https://t.co/KmUAKstnSl
— Rashad Robinson (@rashadrobinson) June 26, 2020
Considering that a majority of Facebook’s ad revenue comes from direct-response ads from small and medium-sized businesses, the boycott may be creating a wave of bad press for Facebook and Instagram, it’s unlikely even major advertisers pausing ad spending for one month will have a substantial effect on Facebook’s bottom line.
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