Elon Musk dialed again his notorious GFY remark to advertisers final yr, saying he solely meant the message for manufacturers that will not allow free speech.
The proprietor and chief know-how officer of X (previously Twitter) is on the Cannes Lions Competition this week on a mission to win again advertisers after many fled the platform over model security issues and Musk’s personal controversial posts. Final November on the DealBook convention, Musk singled out Disney CEO Bob Iger for pulling advert spend from the platform, saying that manufacturers ceasing promoting on X over such issues have been successfully committing “blackmail.”
On Wednesday, talking on the Cannes stage with WPP chief government Mark Learn, Musk took a softer tone and touted the platform’s “influential” customers and ad-targeting capabilities.
Musk clarified that his earlier remark was not “to advertisers as a complete,” however relatively to these “insisting on censorship.” He emphasised that it is necessary X stays a “free speech platform, the place individuals from a variety of opinions can voice their views.”
“Advertisers have a proper to seem subsequent to content material that they assume matches with their model. That’s completely cool. What will not be cool is insisting that there could be no content material they disagree with on the platform,” Musk mentioned. “If there’s [a choice between] censorship and cash or free speech and dropping cash, we’re going to go along with the second … that was the precise ethical resolution.”
His message to advertisers which have left X altogether—that features Disney, IBM and Apple —is that the platform “is value making an attempt out” as a result of its customers are “essentially the most influential individuals on the earth.”
Musk mentioned model security is “important” and insisted that “each third-party reviewer has given us an A+ on model security.”
He additionally mentioned that X is engaged on utilizing AI to enhance its advert concentrating on capabilities.
“Beforehand with old-school Twitter, there was primarily no concentrating on or matching of customers to advertisements,” he defined. “We’re very centered on having advertisements proven to individuals they’ll discover attention-grabbing.”
Final yr, Musk missed attending the Cannes Lions, the most important gathering of the promoting trade. X chief government Linda Yaccarino can also be on the occasion, and each are attempting to reassure manufacturers cautious of the ad-funded platform and its provocative proprietor, who has typically posted controversial and right-wing opinions.
X’s advert income tanked by practically 50% in 2023, and its market worth has doubtless declined by roughly 70% since Musk purchased it in 2022, in line with Constancy.
Manufacturers are nonetheless risk-averse
Kara Swisher, journalist and co-host of the podcast Pivot, mentioned throughout a dwell podcast recording at ADWEEK Home on Tuesday that X’s proposition is a “tough promote” for Yaccarino.