London – Advertising giant WPP’s GroupM unit, which handles some $3.5 billion in annual website ad buys for clients such as AT&T, Unilever and IBM, has announced that it will no longer purchase ads on over 2,000 sites that offer pirated or unlicensed content, TorrentFreak reported.
The blacklist — created in partnership with GroupM media clients including Universal Music Group and Paramount Pictures — includes sites such as RapidShare.com, Kickasstorrents.com, Vkontakte, and Free-TV-Show.com.
“We’re serious about combating piracy and protecting our clients’ intellectual property as forcefully as we possibly can,” Rob Norman, global chief executive of GroupM Interaction, told the Guardian.
“This policy extends to digital media buyers at all GroupM agencies, as well as other WPP companies like Team Detroit, which manages Ford’s media business.”
TorrentFreak has published GroupM’s full website blacklist at a link below.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/68nbtmr (TorrentFreak)
http://tinyurl.com/68o5pwq (Guardian)
