Twitter entered the world ten years ago, on March 21st, 2006. Since then, it's gone public and amassed over 300 million active users. But like a lot of ten-year-olds, it's still misunderstood by many. We're sure the company hopes its new ad out today can help change that.
The two-and-a-half minute ad takes the form of a thank you note penned to its users around the world, and it succinctly covers what makes Twitter unique. Much of the spot focuses on Twitter's utility as a breaking news platform, with clips from events like 2011's Arab Spring and the tsunami that devastated Japan that same year. Social activism is also highlighted by movements like #BringBackOurGirls, #blacklivesmatter, and #LoveWins. Of course, there's also a section dedicated to viral videos and GIFs that spread across Twitter like wildfire.
Starting in on 3/21 and moving across the , we thank you for 10 incredible years.
— Twitter (@twitter) March 20, 2016
Love, Twitter#LoveTwitterhttps://t.co/pH4WWdgK6q
Notably, the entire thank you note is squeezed into a 140-character tweet. The author even pushes past the limit intially, before making an emoji tweak to fit into the character count. As Twitter's witnessed lots of change over the past ten years, the ad could be seen as a reaffirmation of the company's commitment to the character limit. That said, the company did cheat a little by publishing a longer note on its official blog.