【1998 Archives】

Twitter just had an Oscars first: a commercial.

998 Archivescompany ran an ad during the broadcast, celebrating women with the hashtag #HereWeAre. The black-and-white spot featured prominent women from the entertainment industry reading poetry, ending with the words "this is how you create a new world."

The #HereWeAre hashtag originated at CES when Twitter organized an event featuring women in the tech industry after the trade show insisted that it couldn't find any women speakers to keynote the annual event.

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The relatively small event, hosted by Twitter CMO Leslie Brand, proved to be incredibly popular with millions of viewers watching the broadcast. The hashtag became part of a broader campaign that culminated with the Oscars commercial.

The words made a powerful impression on a number of viewers.

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But not everyone was so impressed with the spot. Some critics saw the ad as little more than lip service, given the company's complicated history with handling abuse, which often targets women on the platform.

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On its part, Twitter has made a number of changes over the last year as part of a bigger effort to combat abuse on its platform. And just last week, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said the company will do more to combat abuse and bullying. Dorsey put out a request for proposals, asking organizations for ideas to help make conversations on Twitter healthier.