Vodafone, First Direct pull Facebook adverts

Online campaigns juxtaposed with BNP pages a no-no

3 August 2007 12:56 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Vodafone and First Direct have pulled their adverts from Facebook.

The two companies have withdrawn their advertising as the adverts were being shown near British National Party's (the controversial, racist "political party") Facebook content.

Vodafone and First Direct "bundle" buy advertising space across a range of websites and have no control over what content the ads appear in conjunction with.

A First Direct spokesman said: "We are obviously concerned about where our advertising appears. We have got to make sure that the places we advertise are consistent with our own values and identity".

Vodafone stated it wanted to carry on working with Facebook while "staying true" to its policies and a spokesperson said:

"We were not aware that a Vodafone advertisement would appear next to a British National Party group on Facebook."

This maybe the start of a new awareness from advertisers about online positioning.

Apple has famously always said that they don't advertise on sites that feature rumour stories in case its advertising ends up along side it.

El Reg reveals that Vodafone rival Orange's adverts are shown alongside the page for the Facebook group of "Aryan Satan Worshippers".