Facebook launches first brand video to celebrate a billion users

On 4 October, Facebook announced that there are a billion people actively using the social network. To mark the occasion, according to a press note, the company is launching an advertising campaign "to honour the everyday things that people make to get together and connect."

A note by Mark Zuckerberg says: "Celebrating a billion people is very special to me. It's a moment to honor the people we serve. For the first time in our history, we've made a brand video to express what our place is on this earth. We believe that the need to open up and connect is what makes us human. It's what brings us together. It's what brings meaning to our lives. Facebook isn't the first thing people have made to help us connect. We belong to a rich tradition of people making things that bring us together. Today, we honor this tradition. We honor the humanity of the people we serve. We honor the everyday things people have always made to bring us together: Chairs, doorbells, airplanes, bridges, games. These are all things that connect us. And now Facebook is a part of this tradition of things that connect us too. I hope you enjoy this video as much as we do. Thanks for helping connect a billion people."

The global campaign is targeted at Facebook users in 13 countries: Brazil, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Spain, UK, and the US. It will be translated into 12 different languages, and will be launched on Facebook.

The ad has been created by Wieden + Kennedy Portland. Portland, New Orleans, Buenos Aires, and Los Angeles were chosen as locations to shoot so a variety of visual textures could be captured. The ad was directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, and the voiceover was done by Erin Swanson, the writer at Wieden + Kennedy. The music used in the ad is an original track composed by the band, Explosions in the Sky.