Outdoor brands lead the call for Facebook ad boycott

Patagonia became the third major outdoor brand to say it was boycotting Facebook and Instagram on Sunday, following similar moves by North Face and REI.

Why it matters: Tension between advertisers and the tech giant has existed for years, but now — as the country faces a reckoning over systemic racism — marketers feel more compelled to take a public stand on filtering hate speech.

Driving the news: In an email to clients obtained by the Wall Street Journal on Friday, 360i, a digital-ad agency owned by global ad holding group Dentsu Group Inc., urged its clients to support the ad boycott being advocated by civil rights groups. 

• Smaller brands like UpWork and HigherRing have also joined the boycott.
• Earlier this month, Talkspace CEO Oren Frank tweeted that the company discontinued its partnership discussions with Facebook.

Catch up quick: The push for an ad boycott began last week, when six civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League and the NAACP, began urging marketers to stop buying ads on Facebook, using the hashtag #stophateforprofit in a bid to pressure the company to take firmer action against hate speech and other harmful material.

Yes, but: Scattered boycotts rarely amount to significant revenue losses for the company, which saw almost $70 billion in ad revenue last year.

This time, however, the threat of protests comes as the industry is already struggling due to the coronavirus-induced recession, with 2020 digital ad revenue now expected to come in billions below original estimates.

Go deeper: Facebook takes down Trump campaign ads with symbol once used by Nazis