"Chairs are like Facebook", says first brand ad

By KS Sandhya Iyer | Updated: 5 October 2012 13:44 IST

Mark Zuckerberg openly declared that Facebook now has over a billion active users. Hundreds of updates across platforms, many redesigns and additional features, a disheartening Facebook IPO and 1 billion users later, Facebook finally gets its first very own commercial.

Celebrating its latest achievement of reaching the 1 billion users milestone, the new Facebook ad titled "Things That Connect Us" compares Facebook to chairs, bridges, basketball and other vehicles that bring people together. The social network hired ad agency Wieden + Kennedy, best known for its Nike work to create the 90-second film above. Ironically, there is no mention of Facebook hitting the 1 billion mark in the film.

Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu ("Babel," ''21 Grams" and "Amores Perros"), the video starts off with an empty red chair suspended in midair in a forest. Then it moves to chairs with people, first just one then two, and groups around a dinner table, dancing, playing. Then more chairs.

"Chairs. Chairs are made so that anyone can sit down and take a break. Anyone can sit on a chair," a woman's voice assures the viewer. "And if the chair is large enough, they can sit down together. And tell jokes. Or make up stories. Or just listen. Chairs are for people. And that is why chairs are like Facebook."

"These are things people use to get together so they can open up and connect," the ad continues. The conclusion? The universe is vast and dark and makes us wonder if we are alone. And there is Facebook. And chairs, of course.

Speaking of the ad, Rebecca Van Dyck, a former executive for Apple and Levi's, who joined Facebook as head of consumer marketing in February said, "What we're trying to articulate is that we as humans exist to connect, and we at Facebook to facilitate and enable that process. We make the tools and services that allow people to feel human, get together, open up. Even if it's a small gesture, or a grand notion -- we wanted to express that huge range of connectivity and how we interact with each other."

It's Facebook's first advertising campaign surrounding its brand. As of now, there is no official confirmation from Facebook to air the ad on television.

With Inputs from AP

Here's a look at "Things That Connect Us", the first Facebook commercial.

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