Month: December 2022

Musk’s plan doesn’t stop there. He’s reportedly weighing whether to force users to share their location to Twitter (and its advertisers) alongside their contact phone numbers that they have already provided for two-factor authentication for ad targeting purposes.

Once upon a time — like in 2012 — this would’ve sounded fine. But these days — when consumers view privacy as they do — stuff like this doesn’t really fly. Companies can’t simply strong arm users into sharing their personal data to continue to receive a service.

It’s possible, of course, but far from easy as Musk is about to find out. Regulators already have their alarm bells ringing over Musk’s reportedly proposed plan. 

The data watchdog in the U.K. the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is already in touch with Twitter about the matter. “The ICO is engaged in dialogue with Twitter’s data protection officer and is continuing to assess the potential data protection impacts of any changes to the company and its online services,” according to a spokesman from the regulators.

Similarly, the Irish Data Protection Commission told TechCrunch that it is reviewing the plan. A spokesperson for the regulator told Digiday: “We are unaware of any plans for Twitter to roll this out in the EU and we would expect engagement in advance of any such plans”.

Other regulators could follow given the span of Twitter’s audience. The U.S. accounts for the bulk of the social network’s active users, for example, with a total of 77.6 million users, according to the most recent numbers. The U.K. has around 19.05 million active users.

If Musk is going to stave off regulators then he needs to nail one, key thing. He has to be able to justify to them that getting that data from Twitter users is necessary to provide the service that it’s offering. This is debatable. For example, Twitter, as a service, does not need to know the location of its users for them to tweet. But it does need that location data to serve ads to its users.

In this sense, Twitter’s location data is infinitely more valuable to the platform than whatever revenue it’d be able to make off of user subscriptions.

“Clearly, the big tech companies are more interested in your data than they are your subscription revenue, for obvious reasons,” said Russell Howe, vp of EMEA at data control business.Ketch. “But they never tell you. That’s the problem.”

This isn’t a hot take. It’s inscribed in law. Indeed, it’s the principle of data economy in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, and it’s in section 1798.121 of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) in the U.S. Both of these clauses say consumers have the right to direct a business that collects personal information to limit its use. And companies should only collect this kind of information that’s actually necessary to perform a service or provide goods. 

Does Twitter need your data?

“I think we can all agree that collecting this additional data is not necessary to provide the service that Twitter currently provides,” said Steffen Schebesta, CEO of Sendinblue. “Twitter, it’s working fine without all this extra data that they might collect in the future. It’s purely to optimize their profits. And sell more and more targeted ads. So I think it doesn’t comply with this particular class of GDPR. Nor CPRA.”

That said, if Musk et al did manage to fashion a very clear message about the opt-in, what data is being collected and how it is to be used, it could also become a watershed moment about consumer sentiment on privacy — for better or worse. It’s a big if. 

There’s no certainty that marketers will come running back to Twitter. Sure, marketers would love the ability to target Twitter users with a new found treasure trove of personal information.

But that could come at a great cost to marketers that stretches far beyond ad dollars. Using data that’s been gained in the way Musk has proposed could be a PR disaster in waiting. Not every user is going to be OK with it. Some may even walk away from Twitter entirely. If this dismay boils over then it’s another incident of advertising making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. 

“U.K and European Union regulators will respond strongly if this is implemented,” said Nigel Jones, director of The Privacy Compliance Hub and lawyer who has represented Google. “They can order Twitter not to continue if it does choose to implement such changes.  However, the fines would be the strongest deterrent because if Twitter wilfully decides to act unlawfully the fines will be higher (anything up to 4% of total global turnover).”

Which is to say marketers will be wary. It’s not like Twitter doesn’t have form in this regard — on the contrary. It is already in the crosshairs of the data privacy regulator in the U.K following the recent notice of intention to fine it £27 million ($33.3 million) it issued.

Attention on Twitter

“Twitter is already in the spotlight for allegations of poor cyber security operations, will surely come under great scrutiny for trying to rush through a one-size-fits-all approach to user consent when the rest of the world is moving towards greater restrictions,” said Jeremy Barnett, chief commercial officer at data privacy tech company LOKKER.

That’s been clear for a while. So much so that by the end of 2023, 75% of the world’s population is going to be under some form of privacy legislation, said Jones. That’s a lot of pushback against companies that were not getting someone’s active consent to share their data. Australia, China, India, and Saudi are coming up with their own spins on this stance on how to empower privacy for the individual, for example.

“You’re seeing the regulator’s bearing more teeth now,” said Barnett. “What you’re starting to see now, is they’re not just going after big tech, they’re starting to go after brands for breach of true data protection liability. And so with that comes confidence, because they’re able to pass and instantiate the law that exists, which they haven’t been doing before they kind of like, let’s just get these big flagship wins.” 

The sportswear giant launched a short but substantial commercial to run on social channels. The ad features Messi playing face-to-face with himself in his different facets as he played in the four World Cups that preceded the current one — including the Leo Messi with unruly hair who was full of dreams in Germany 2006, when he was already being compared to the late and legendary Diego Armando Maradona.

The same man who led his country’s national team to glory in CONMEBOL tournaments carried the national team on his shoulders in South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018. For this reason, the advertising team at Adidas wanted to pay tribute to the 35-year-old soccer phenomenon.

“All those memories. In our family, the impossible is what we do,” reads the post on the Adidas social media page. It’s the same post that was later replicated by Lionel Messi to his 388 million followers on Instagram.

Magic through time

The Adidas commercial uses CGI technology to show the five versions of Messi making passes to each other on the pitch and giving each other advice on the field.

In the images, viewers see Messi facing himself with his particular haircut and the Adidas jersey and boots corresponding to each moment — a story that, in seconds, covers about 18 years and five World Cup tournaments.

Experts said an artificial intelligence technique was used where the different versions of Messi were shown without aging. Body doubles were also used for the sequence to be put together, they said.

In the ad, fans see the 18-year-old Messi before he is called by former coach Jose Pekerman for the World Cup in Germany. That Messi makes a pass to his 22-year-old version, the one in South Africa in 2010, when he won his first Ballon d’Or and was already considered the best striker on the Barcelona team. Then the Messi of Brazil 2014 enters the scene, an experienced player and finalist of the Carioca World Cup, where he proved to be the best player in the competition. This version makes a pass to the Messi of Russia 2018.

The sequence happens in a matter of seconds, with the theme “Live is Life” from the band Opus in the background.

Last, the Leo Messi of Qatar 2022, who continues to dream of lifting the World Cup, enters to join the training with his previous versions.

The ad, which went viral on social networks, precedes the “The Family Reunion” campaign that features international soccer stars including Karim Benzema, Achraf Hakimi, Son Heung-Min, Jude Bellingham, Pedro “Pedri” Gonzalez Lopez and Serge Gnabry in a sort of unmissable date on the road to Qatar. 

“There is a rare moment at the beginning of the World Cup when it really seems that the impossible is nothing. A moment when players and fans come together united by the conviction that they will bring the trophy home,” Florian Alt, vp of global communications at Adidas, said in a statement on the advertising strategy.

“We will see new players burst onto the scene, a modest overcoming of the odds, incredible goals and widespread celebrations across the globe. It is precisely this spirit that our campaign hopes to inspire in fans around the world,” Alt said.

Conquering the “Messiverse“

Over the years, Messi has become a sort of King Midas for Adidas. Since the brand signed a lifetime contract with the Argentine star in February 2017, the German sportswear giant has released several special editions of sneakers alluding to Messi, which are sold worldwide.

Although the figures of Messi’s contract with Adidas were not disclosed in detail, several media outlets reported at the time that it would amount to more than $10 million per year.

When there was talk about Messi’s departure from the Barcelona team, where he wore a Nike jersey, the Spanish sports press reported that Adidas would benefit from his team change, with Adidas preferring that he move to a club sponsored by the brand.

At the time, a poll found that 70% of those surveyed related Messi more to Nike than to Adidas.

Adidas is not the only brand behind the conquest of the recently named “Messiverse.” Pepsi, Lays and Gatorade are also on the list of advertising partners of the Argentine team captain.

There is no doubt that the commercial agreements signed with Messi years ago reap their best fruits in World Cup times when Argentina is one of the favorites to win the title.