Facebook's first ad compares the social network to ... chairs?

Facebook’s first ad compares the social network to ... chairs?

By Deborah Netburn

Oct. 4, 2012 12 AM PT

&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Facebook announced Thursday that it had signed up its 1 billionth user. To celebrate, the company released an ad. The ad isn’t really designed to sell anything. It is designed to help us understand Facebook’s role in the world.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;And it starts with chairs.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;”Chairs are made so people can sit down and take a break,” a woman’s voice tells us as we watch all kinds of people sitting in all kinds of chairs. “Anyone can sit on a chair, and if the chair is large enough, they can sit down together.... Chairs are for people, and that’s why chairs are like Facebook.”&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;It goes on to tell us all kinds of things are like Facebook. Doorbells. Airplanes. Bridges. Oh, and the universe.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;If you feel your eyes are rolling out of your head, you are not alone.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Gizmodo &amp;lt;a href=”https://gizmodo.com/5948904/facebooks-first-ad-is-facebooks-worst-ad”&amp;gt;wrote&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, “Facebook’s first ad is its worst ad,” and the Atlantic Wire &amp;lt;a href=”https://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2012/10/facebook-aims-real-human-emotion-new-ad/57596/”&amp;gt;wrote&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;, “The deepness doesn’t come off as heartfelt, but just kind of silly.”&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The ad was created by Wieden &amp;amp; Kennedy, the Portland, Ore.-based ad agency that became famous for making Nike’s powerful advertisements. Facebook just announced that the ad agency is now its agency of record.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Wieden Creative Director Karl Lieberman &amp;lt;a href=”https://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-emotional-spot-wieden-kennedy/237569/”&amp;gt;told&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; Ad Age that the company wanted its first advertising message to be humble.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span&amp;gt;”Facebook wanted to speak in a significant, but humble way,” Lieberman said. “We thought that starting off with chairs really did that. We don’t think about chairs a lot, but you can if you want. You can spend $5 on a chair, or $5,000. They could be incredibly ordinary, or incredibly sophisticated. We thought it was a humble but interesting way for Facebook to start talking about itself.”&amp;lt;/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The ad was directed by Alegnadro Gonzalez Inarritu, director of the films “Amores Perros” and “21 Grams.”&amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;And just in case you’re wondering, yes, the &amp;lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/facebookschair”&amp;gt;@Facebookschair&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; Twitter account has already been claimed.&amp;nbsp;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;ALSO:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”http://arstechnica1.netblogpro.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-facebook-hits-historic-milestone-1-billion-users-20121004,0,1361388.story”&amp;gt;Facebook hits 1 billion users, reaching historic milestone&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”http://arstechnica1.netblogpro.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-curiosity-mars-foursquare-20121004,0,5338346.story”&amp;gt;Curiosity hopes to be Martian mayor, checks in on Foursquare&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=”http://arstechnica1.netblogpro.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-starbucks-digital-tipping-20121004,0,5711972.story”&amp;gt;Starbucks brews up mobile payment changes, adds digital tipping&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Follow Deborah Netburn on &amp;lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/#!/DeborahNetburn”&amp;gt;Twitter&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; or &amp;lt;a href=”https://plus.google.com/u/0/109675776633752908527/posts”&amp;gt;Google+&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;

Facebook’s first ad compares the social network to ... chairs?

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