Disney Shifts to Instagram After Leaving X, Increases US Ad Spending

Walt Disney, joined by other big U.S. companies, has increased U.S. advertisement spending on Instagram and other applications by as much as 40% after leaving Elon Musk's X over antisemitic content, as reported by Reuters.

Disney reportedly increased their advertisement spending by as much as 40% on Instagram from November 20, per a Sensor Tower report cited by Reuters. Comcast likewise joined, with a 6% increase in the same application, while Paramount shifted to Snapchat, tripling its ad spending.

According to Felipe Thomaz, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Oxford, Reuters reports that brands are wise enough to reroute resources away from problematic platforms in response to worries about brand safety.

Bob Iger echoes this notion when the Disney owner recently stated that he believes that Disney's partnership with X will not necessarily benefit the corporation, as Engadget reported, citing Variety as a source.

X as an Advertisers' Platform

X, on the matter, has previously stated that these firms are also aware of how important X is to building relationships with their communities, according to a CBS report.

The company claimed that instead, companies like DisneyPlus, Amazon, and others are just posting free advertisements to stay involved with their respective communities while continuously updating their brand-owned X accounts with content.

This increased advertisement spending follows after prominent companies like Apple, IBM, and Sony have withdrawn their adverts from X due to recent contentious remarks made by Elon Musk and the finding that their ads seemed to be next to blatantly antisemitic material, as per a Sensor Tower report.

Musk has previously disputed the claim made by Media Matters, a nonprofit media organization, that advertising creatives were positioned next to antisemitic material.

The X-owner also recently shouted out sponsor Disney and others during a New York Times DealBook Summit interview for pulling their advertisements, "Go f*ck yourself," the X-owner said, as previously reported by Tech Times.

Musk allegedly expressed this opinion many times and insisted that there be no advertisements on the website; he also acknowledged the existence of blackmail during the advertising exodus on his platform.

Musk's Woes on X

Following these remarks, Reuters states that statistics from Sensor Tower, as of November 2023, show that X, which has seen roughly 51 of the top 100 US advertisers on its platform since October of last year, had stopped running advertisements.

According to a recent story by Bloomberg News, Reuters states that X's advertisement income is expected to drop significantly this year to about $2.5 billion.

Following Musk's ownership of X, user interaction has stayed consistent. Still, the site has reportedly suffered a 16% decrease in monthly active users after the takeover, according to the market research firm.

Mobile analytics company data.ai reportedly stated in a research earlier this month that although platforms like X are expected to retain a core user base, general trends indicate people are switching from text-based social networking applications to photo- and video-first media.