Comcast, Disney, and IBM Are Among Advertisers Returning to X After Ad Freeze
X’s former top advertisers including Comcast, IBM, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Lionsgate Entertainment, have resumed ad spending on the platform this year, albeit at much lower rates than before.
From January to September 2024, marketing intelligence platform MediaRadar found that these brands collectively spent less than $3.3 million on X. This is a 98% year-over-year drop from the $170 million spent during the same period in 2023.
These brands, along with Apple, paused their campaigns in November 2023 after their ads appeared next to antisemitic content and hate speech, exacerbated by X owner Elon Musk endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory, which spooked many advertisers.
According to MediaRadar, X’s top advertisers include challenger brands like Karma Shopping, Canles Shoes, and Kueez Entertainment, each of which spent more than $12 million this year, totaling $68 million, to stand out on a less busy media channel.
“This suggests that X might move to a long-tail advertiser strategy, ” said Meghan Fraze, chief product officer, of MediaRadar. “This would benefit new brands that are looking for ways to connect with audiences without the intense competition. As X evolves, it could be forging an ad model that’s less dependent on the usual suspects.”
