IPG's Mediabrands is recommending that brands pause all of their ads on Twitter until concerns around brand safety can be assessed in the wake of Elon Musk taking over the company.

The agency sent an email to clients this week sharing its view on Twitter, which raised questions about the safety of having ads appear on the platform while it is going through a seemingly rocky transition, following Musk's $44 billion purchase of the company last week.

“Given the current situation at Twitter, we recommend a temporary pause on all current paid media activity there. Mediabrands will review this recommendation on an ongoing basis and provide timely client guidance,” said the Mediabrands memo, a copy of which was obtained by Ad Age. “To be clear, this is not a recommendation for a permanent pause, however we feel it is the most pragmatic approach for advertisers while Musk’s plans at Twitter unfold over the next few days and while our teams and internet safety experts are able to collect more information.”

A person familiar with Mediabrands’ outreach to brands said the recommendation was for an ad pause on Twitter for a week, “until they have more clarity on Twitter’s plans for trust and safety,” this person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The memo outlines the litany of brand safety concerns that have surfaced in the past few days regarding Musk. Advertisers had been bracing for some turbulence since the billionaire started the process of buying Twitter, but his brief stint at the top has not seemed to ease concerns. Mediabrands pointed clients to reports about an uptick in racist slurs on Twitter in the past week. Black leaders, including NBA star and media titan LeBron James, posted on Twitter that the rise in hate speech was “scary AF.” (James' entertainment company and brand consultancy SpringHill Company earlier this year announced a joint venture with IPG that gives the agency holding company access to SpringHill's diverse lineup of creators.)

The concern for brands is that Musk’s ownership has emboldened trolls and accounts that spew hate.

Meanwhile, Musk didn’t do himself any favors over the weekend by tweeting a false story about the attack at Nancy Pelosi’s home, which Mediabrands also referenced. “Musk’s own tweets would not be considered brand safe or adjacency appropriate,” the agency's memo said.

Morning Brew's Ryan Barwick tweeted about IPG's recommended ad freeze this morning.

'The situation is becoming distracting, exhausting'

This week, Musk is in New York, where he was arranging meetings with heads of holding companies and chief marketing officers, according to a number of advertising leaders.

Not all advertising agencies are telling clients to pause ad spending on Twitter. One top digital ad exec told Ad Age that the agency was recommending clients have contingency plans if Musk dramatically alters Twitter policies in ways that conflict with a brand’s sensibilities.

One ad industry CEO told Ad Age that Musk had already held some talks, during which he talked about “client concerns regarding Twitter.”

Advertisers are mostly concerned that Musk does not have a brand safety plan in place that would keep the platform in line with industry standards that have emerged over the past two years. Twitter’s previous leadership has worked closely with groups like the Global Alliance for Responsible Media and with Twitter’s “Influencer Council,” a group of its top brands, to address topics like misinformation and hate speech.

“The situation is becoming distracting, exhausting, for advertisers who might just lose interest and move on for the time being,” said a marketing leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “There are too many mixed signals, hypotheticals and unpredictable actions. At some point an advertiser is going to say, ‘not my problem.’”

Adding to the uncertainty, on Tuesday Twitter Chief Customer Officer Sarah Personette tweeted her goodbye to the company. Personette has been one of the most out-front Twitter leaders working with ad agencies and brands. And last week, Musk fired executives including Vijaya Gadde, the head of trust and safety.

An IPG Mediabrands spokesperson did not return a request for comment about its memo, and it’s unclear how many of its brands would implement its recommendation. Clients of Initiative, one of the agencies within Interpublic Group of Cos.' IPG Mediabrands, include major marketers such as Unilever, Merck, Salesforce and T-Mobile. Clients of IPG Mediabrands’ UM include Johnson & Johnson and CVS Health.

Last week, General Motors was the first major advertiser to announce it would pause its ad spending on Twitter while the company watches how Musk, who also owns rival automaker Tesla, runs the platform. This week, Ford told Ad Age that it currently was not running ads.

The memo from Mediabrands noted that some clients may have spending commitments with Twitter that it would help unwind, if necessary. “We know that some clients have non-cancelable media scheduled with Twitter, and we are working with them to modify those contract terms,” the memo said. “For clients who do not wish to pause, we strongly recommend that any future media booked be cancellable without penalty, given the uncertainty.”

Mediabrands said marketers could continue to tweet organically.

Contributing: Jack Neff