Google’s ad crisis intensifies as AT&T and J&J join boycott
New York — Google’s advertising crisis went global after some of the biggest marketers including AT&T and Johnson & Johnson halted spending on YouTube and the internet company’s display network, citing concern their ads would run alongside offensive videos. The controversy erupted last week after the London-based Times newspaper reported that some ads were running with YouTube videos that promoted terrorism or anti-Semitism. The UK government and the Guardian newspaper took down ads from the video site and Havas SA, the world’s sixth-largest advertising and marketing company, pulled its UK clients’ ads from Google’s display ad network and YouTube. On Wednesday, the boycott spread across the Atlantic as US companies that are among the heaviest ad spenders pulled back, potentially costing Google and YouTube hundreds of millions of dollars in lost business. AT&T and Verizon Communications, the largest US wireless carriers, said they had stopped non-search advertising spending with Goog...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.