Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Twitter’s hilarious new ad addresses one of its biggest problems — that Twitter is too hard to use

Twitter launched two new digital ads with comedian Romesh Ranganathan.

A man speaks into a bullhorn.
A man speaks into a bullhorn.
Twitter

Well played, Twitter.

The social company came out with a new video ad on Wednesday that puts a pretty hilarious spin on one of Twitter’s biggest real-world problems: Its product is too hard to use, especially for new users signing up for the first time.

The ad shows a distraught user — “Kenny G” — trying to create an account, before comedian Romesh Ranganathan arrives to talk him through the process as a kind of crisis negotiator.

It’s better if you just watch it. We’ll wait.

While the ad is funny, it’s also a reminder that, even more than a decade after launch, Twitter is still trying to explain to people what it is.

“I don’t know what to do,” says Kenny G in the ad. “I don’t understand this.”

You’re not alone, Kenny G.

Explaining Twitter to the masses has been a serious obstacle for the company over the last few years. As a result, its user growth has virtually stalled.

Twitter has run other ads in the past to try and explain what Twitter is or how to use it, but they’ve been more serious.

This ad, along with a second one featuring Ranganathan teaching a distraught user how to search for things on Twitter, is running online in places like Pandora and Amazon in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.


This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh