As the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni feud continues to dominate social media, MNTN—the performance TV adtech platform that counts Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, as its Chief Creative Officer—appears to be advertising on Reddit.
In some cases, the placements are contextually relevant. For example, one Reddit user posted seven months ago about MNTN for media buying. A MNTN ad now appears alongside that discussion.
But in other cases, the placements are… awkward.
MNTN ads have been spotted next to threads filled with anti-Lively and anti-Reynolds sentiment—funky terrain for a company associated so publicly with Reynolds.
Weirdly, another Ryan Reynolds company, Mint Mobile, was spotted running ads on YouTube alongside anti-Blake Lively content. One of the creators who received a subpoena in the Lively–Baldoni case said as much, telling the Daily Mail:
“We are paid by AdSense according to ads run on our channel. Ironically enough, Mint Mobile often runs ads on my channel featuring their spokesperson, Ryan Reynolds, so if I’ve been paid directly or indirectly by anyone involved in this case, it’s former party, Ryan Reynolds.'”
Why This Matters:
This is a simple case of basic retargeting: if you’ve visited MNTN’s site recently, this ad may follow you around Reddit regardless of the content. But context still matters, of course, especially when your chief spokesperson is the face of the brand. Having MNTN ads appear next to posts bashing Reynolds (and his wife) feels obviously off-brand.
More broadly, it points to a recurring issue in B2B technology: brand safety and suitability often gets deprioritized. Consumer brands tend to be more cautious about ad adjacencies. Meanwhile, B2B marketers may assume their audiences are savvier or less emotionally reactive. That assumption might not always hold up, however.
Experts React:
Totally unrelated, but here’s Reynolds on his MNTN partnership back when it launched.
FWIW, it was recently revealed that MNTN had divested from Maximum Effort, Reynolds’ marketing agency, though Reynolds and MNTN are still working together and had a nice joint presence at Cannes.
Our Take:
This is more of a quirky case than a “gotcha,” in our view. Do any of these Reddit posters actually care? Are they even seeing this ad? For all we know, the author of the post was the only one who experienced it. You’d have to be following the Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni drama (we’re invested!) and have visited the MNTN website. It’s admittedly a bit absurd and an edge case.
Still, B2B companies, especially adtech companies, should also care about how their ads show up online/where. Don’t run ads alongside places that are weird. Or at least try not to.
