X-odus: Paris Hilton Pulls Ads Out Less Than Two Months After Announcing Exclusive Partnership
11:11 Media, Paris Hilton’s entertainment company, has removed an advertising campaign on X, barely two months after announcing an exclusive partnership with the platform. The move, confirmed by 11:11 COO and president Bruce Gersh, follows growing concerns about owner Elon Musk’s antisemitism and the presence of pro-Nazi content on the platform, prompting a series of brands to suspend their ad spending.
This decision will likely weigh heaviest on X CEO, Linda Yaccarino, who recently celebrated the collab with Hilton. Yaccarino, a former longtime NBC ad executive, had characterized the partnership as a long-term, “official partnership,” aiming to serve as a launchpad for various initiatives in video, live commerce, Spaces, and more. The deal also included a revenue-sharing agreement.
Yaccarino, tasked with rebuilding advertiser trust despite the chaos and unpredictability since Musk’s takeover, hailed Hilton as the “queen of pop culture” and envisioned an exclusive new era on X. The abrupt withdrawal of 11:11 Media’s campaign casts uncertainty on the future of Hilton’s partnership with X. Although neither Hilton nor X has commented on the matter, indicating that the partnership might still be on.
Just as Yaccarino was feeling good about the future of the platform, bravely proclaiming that X should turn a profit by early next year, at least half a dozen brands have suspended their ad spending on X in the previous week due to concerns about pro-Nazi content and Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory on the platform.
Related: Ad Execs Urge X CEO Linda Yaccarino to Step Down to Save Herself (from Elon Musk)
Major advertisers IBM, Disney, Paramount, Apple, and Warner Bros have all paused their ad spending, with IBM specifically halting its ads after Media Matters reported that its ads had appeared alongside pro-Nazi content on X.
Musk responded to the allegations by filing a lawsuit against the progressive media watchdog. He accused Media Matters of conducting a “blatant smear campaign” against X, with the lawsuit arguing that Media Matters fabricated its report by continuously refreshing a biased feed.
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