Marketers are using Twitter and Facebook to vent about the News of the World phone-hacking scandal and to announce that theyâre pulling advertising from the UK tabloid.
Renault UK, for instance, told its 2,800 followers that the brand âhas no media advertising planned with NOTW” and doesnât plan any until a formal investigation has been executed.
Mitsubishi used Twitter as as forum to announce — at a Facebook userâs suggestion — that it is donating its NOTW ad spend to a charity.
Ford UK, meanwhile, didnât announce its pullout on Twitter, but directed a follower to the companyâs release on the matter.
The flurry of activity is being spurred by campaigners who are using Twitter as a vehicle to lobby the brands to take a position on the matter. One site even has a list of ready-made tweets that users can fire at the advertisers.
According to Marketing Week, a consumer campaign of 6,000-plus tweets prompted The Co-Operative to pull advertising after it had initially planned to stay the course. Other advertisers have been lobbied via Twitter as well, including bookseller WH Smith, which has gotten close to 6,000 tweets, and Virgin Media, which has received more than 4,000.
The pressure comes as UK Prime Minister David Cameron called for a public inquiry over the News of the Worldâs âabsolutely disgustingâ phone hacking allegations. The tabloid publication, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, is accused of hacking into the voicemail of a missing teenage girl, Milly Dowler, in pursuit of a scoop. Serial killer Levi Bellfield was found guilty last month for the 2002 murder.
The Guardian ignited the outrage Monday with a report outlining how NOTW reporters listened to the voicemails and deleted messages, possibly obstructing the police investigation and leading the girlâs parents to think she was still alive.
More About: facebook, ford, News of the world, Renault, rupert murdoch, twitter
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