アマゾン、Xへの広告支出拡大　引き揚げから一転

Wall Street Journal

30-01-2025

米アマゾン・ドット・コムがイーロン・マスク氏のX（旧ツイッター）への広告支出を拡大している。複数の関係者が明らかにした。
1年余り前にはヘイトスピーチ（憎悪表現）を巡る懸念から、多くの企業がXへの広告出稿を取りやめていた。アマゾンも広告の大半を引き揚げていたが、方針を大きく転換させた格好だ。
Amazon is ramping up ad spending on Elon Musk's X, according to people familiar with the situation, a major shift after pulling much of its advertising more than a year ago, when many brands had concerns about hate speech on the platform.
Amazon Chief Executive Andy Jassy was involved in the decision, which could result in the company spending significantly more on X. Apple, which pulled all of its ad dollars from X in late 2023, in recent weeks has had discussions about testing out ads on the platform, according to a person familiar with the situation.
Some large companies that have cut or zeroed out advertising on X are re-evaluating their stances in a changing political and social climate. Musk, X's owner, has championed a lighter touch in online content moderation and has emerged as one of the most powerful people in President Trump's orbit. Business and world leaders have worked to improve relations with him, given his elevated role in Washington.
Musk is leading the Department of Government Efficiency, a group that has planned to eliminate $2 trillion in government spending. He contributed roughly a quarter of a billion dollars to a super political-action committee he started to help re-elect Trump.
Ad buyers said that some brands that are returning to X are doing so at spending levels that are still well below their spending before Musk acquired the company, then known as Twitter, for $44 billion in 2022.
The return of advertisers to X would bolster its balance sheet at a critical moment. The investment banks that lent Musk cash for the acquisition have struggled to offload that debt from their books. They are now arranging for a sale of senior debt at 90 to 95 cents on the dollar, The Wall Street Journal reported. Selling the debt will be easier if the company's finances improve.
In a January email to staff, Musk said that despite positive momentum, financial challenges remain, the Journal reported. 'Our user growth is stagnant, revenue is unimpressive, and we're barely breaking even,' he said in the email. Musk has denied sending such an email.
Tech companies and their CEOs were often the target of Trump's ire in the past several years. But the winds have shifted noticeably with his return to the White House. Amazon, Meta Platforms and Apple CEO Tim Cook contributed to Trump's inauguration fund.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was seen hobnobbing with Musk at inaugural events, a stark contrast to a once-frosty relationship in which Musk would insult Bezos and his rocket company on X. Musk referenced the new friendship on X this month, showing a meme from the movie 'Step Brothers' that said, 'Did we just become best friends?'
Advertisers began fleeing the platform soon after Musk's takeover, because of concerns about his efforts to loosen content-moderation restrictions and the turmoil that ensued from management changes. Major ad agencies at the time advised clients that the platform wasn't a safe place to advertise. Controversy over antisemitic content on X in 2023 led even more advertisers to pull back.
The platform's revenue fell sharply after large advertisers left. Musk has sought to develop other streams of revenue, including subscriptions, but advertising remains crucial.
Musk has tangled with brands, saying in late 2023 that advertisers pulling their ads from X could 'go f- yourself.' Tensions soared last summer when X filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against an advertising trade group and several big brands, including candy company Mars and CVS Health, accusing the group of illegally boycotting the platform.
Musk added Amazon's Twitch to the suit in November, claiming the live-streaming platform bought no advertising on X in the U.S. after November 2022, according to court documents.
The lawsuit claims the ad-industry group organized 'to collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising from Twitter.' X has alerted the courts that it intends to add more defendants to the lawsuit.
Write to Dana Mattioli at [e-mail], Suzanne Vranica at [e-mail] and Jessica Toonkel at [e-mail]