Brands pull ads from GB News
June 16, 2021
A number of high-profile brands have pulled their adverts from new channel GB News, which went live on June 12th.
Swedish furniture outlet Ikea, Ovo Energy, Dutch beer company Grolsch and cider firm Kopparberg are among the brands that have withdrawn advertising since GB News’ launch.
OVO Energy said: “We have a media partnership which places our adverts across a number of channels and programmes on a network. New channels were added to this network last week and our adverts ran on this channel without our prior knowledge or consent. OVO strongly believes that a kinder world is a stronger one. We strive to promote inclusion and diversity across all OVO spaces and we do not place our brand in any places which distribute or promote hate. We have a clear policy not to advertise on platforms which do not align with our values. We’ve made the decision to pause our use of the channel whilst we ensure it meets our values.”
Other advertisers said their commercials were placed by algorithms and they would pause advertising until the status of the channel was clearer. The advertising is sold by Sky Media.
The brands have been apparently influenced by the campaign group Stop Funding Hate. It is unclear what views expressed on GB News could be categorised as ‘hate’.
GB News has vowed to “fight cancel culture” and “reflect voices not heard in the media”.