The appearance of Elon Musk, owner and chief technology officer at X, alongside WPP’s chief executive, Mark Read, on stage at Cannes has sparked controversy.
It is understood that Unite, a WPP employee group for LGBTQ+ staff, wrote to Read to express disappointment ahead of the session because of X’s track record on gay and transgender issues.
Read sought to defuse criticism by pointing out at the start of the session that he did not agree with everything Musk says.
After the session, Read spoke to Campaign and defended the decision to feature Musk.
“X is a platform with 500 million-plus followers,” Read said. “It’s a debate that we have with our clients as to whether or not they should be on the platform, and I think we should be able to hear from him directly as the owner about what his views are and how he would express them.
“My goal was to ask him those questions on-stage, which I think I did—not to endorse every view he has on every topic, some of which I disagree with.”
In his first line of questioning, Read asked Musk why he told advertisers to “go fuck yourselves” last November.
Musk, also Tesla CEO, responded by saying “it wasn’t advertisers as a whole” and that if it was a choice between “censorship and money or free speech and losing money, we’re going to choose free speech rather than agreeing to be censored for money”.
Tussles occurred inside the Palais to get into the packed session, while an hour later Musk received boos as he walked along the Croisette with his son.
Campaign asked adland whether it was right for WPP to give Musk a platform, and the responses were split.
Ndubuisi Uchea
Chief executive and co-founder, Word on the Curb
The words "Elon Musk is in Cannes, you know" still ring in my ears. I was baffled when I found out. Isn’t this the guy that told advertisers to hug themselves? (Something to that effect.)
Elon’s erratic nature, divisive comments and suspect decisions have meant that for many, Twitter (sorry, I can’t call it X) has become a no-go platform for advertisers. So to me, it was quite obvious why he would want to be in Cannes, though not so obvious why he was invited.
But to be honest, after hearing one too many talks about AI and enough panel discussions with the words "I agree, and just to add", I do think we need more debate in the industry. To be able to encourage debate is a breath of fresh air and perhaps sets pace for difficult conversations that often lead to innovation, which the industry needs.
Marty Davies
Joint chief executive, Outvertising
The short answer is no. It’s an even more obvious no if your brand is one that is built on celebrating diversity.
Musk has made public statements that many consider transphobic, homophobic, racist and misogynistic. To platform him without addressing these is not only irresponsible but indicates how seriously those platforming him treat these kinds of views and those of us who are deeply troubled by them.
Musk was not robustly challenged on his views nor was he challenged on the proliferation of misinformation and hate speech on X. This is despite specific assurances to me, by Read, that he would.
WPP has many LGBTQIA+, women and people of colour employees. I don’t believe they’ll be feeling more positive about their employer this week as a result.
Tamara Littleton
Executive chair and founder, Social Element
Elon Musk may go down as one of the most divisive men in history. Amid the sea of advertisers and agencies in Cannes, this felt particularly true (you could hear the boos along the Croisette). But I don’t think we should be in the position of banning people from participating just because they are divisive.
As hard as he tries to deny it, he is one of us. As a platform owner, it’s important he is brought into the conversation with advertisers and agencies. He needs to address the instability and safety concerns on X to prove the value to brands. As an industry, we need him in plain sight because without him here, we can’t make social better. It requires everyone working together to achieve the common goal to drive positive change and keep people safe, and that starts with independent regulation that himself and his platform needs to adhere to.
The real question for me, however, is how far he is being held to account on all that he says. An appearance on the Palais stage felt like a performative ego exercise rather than a meaningful reconciliation with the industry. He has done a lot of damage to many communities, and we can’t let that slide. We as an industry shouldn’t bow down to "the celebrity" but instead engage, question, criticise and inform the businessman, who, ultimately, relies on our investment.
Jerry Daykin
Media consultant and diversity ambassador, World Federation of Advertisers
If you platform a figure like Elon, I do think you need to go further to hold him accountable, not just for his platform’s impact but also his personal comments, ideally with a journalist asking tougher questions. In his own free speech he has spoken vocally against DEI initiatives and many of the minorities that we, as an industry, are trying to encourage and support. “Do you regret any of your Tweets?” is not a probing level of accountability on that.
Sarah Treliving
Chief digital, data and technology officer, Goodstuff Communications
Yes. Mark Read didn’t give him an easy time, opening with the call to explain why he said advertisers can go "F" themselves. Elon Musk is accused of, and has outright tweeted, many misdemeanours (putting it mildly), but this interview wasn’t one of them. He faced criticism and responded with solutions to brand safety on X regarding free speech and advertising context.
Whether we like it or not, he is one of the few people pioneering at every curve of AI’s Gartner’s hype cycle that affects us as people and as consumers.
His speech was clearly vetted, and the outcome was a piece of content of more than 280 characters that allowed the industry to hear from him first hand. Let’s hope Elon Musk is entering his reasoned era.
