Morning Update: Airbnb backs down on tax ads; Bond throttles back product placement; Pandora shares dive after earnings fall
Adweek: Airbnb Backs Down in Its Passive-Aggressive San Francisco Ad Campaign
It didn’t take long for Airbnb to take down its tax-hating ads around San Francisco after many people criticized the short-term housing rental startup for publicly complaining about fulfilling its civic duty. The digital-based company told SF Weekly late on Wednesday that it was taking the promos down because of the backlash.
Yesterday, ads started popping up on bus stops and billboards around the city, offering not-so-subtle hints that the company was unhappy having to pay $12 million in hotel taxes. Earlier this year, the company paid millions of dollars in back taxes to the city after failing to pay the 14 percent hotel tax.
