Facebook ad celebrates 1 billion users, chairs

Facebook celebrates 1 billion users with new video The 90-second ad compares the site to other things that bring people together Among them: bridges, airplanes and chairs CEO Mark Zuckerberg: Connecting with others is "what makes us human" (CNN) -- Fresh off the news that it's reached a huge milestone -- 1 billion users -- Facebook on Thursday rolled out a video comparing the social network to other things that bring people together. Like airplanes. And bridges. And chairs. Yep ... chairs. The deo, posted by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook brass on their pages, came as the site announced it had reached 1 billion accounts that are active at least once a month. It took the social media juggernaut six years to hit 500 million and only another two to double that. Zuckerberg said the video, titled "The Things That Connect Us," is the first time Facebook has ever created a "brand video" and that it is designed "to express what our place is on this Earth." "We believe that the need to open up and connect is what makes us human," he wrote. "It's what brings us together. It's what brings meaning to our lives." The 90-second video takes the unlikely tack of comparing the site, famously birthed in Zuckerberg's Harvard dorm room, to everyday items. It begins with the image of a red chair levitating in a forest, but quickly moves on to show other chairs being used as children play and adults rest, dance and chat. "Chairs are made so that people can sit down and take a break," the narrator says over a stirring musical arrangement. "Anyone can sit on a chair. And if the chair's large enough, they can sit down together and tell jokes, or make up stories or just listen." Doorbells, airplanes and bridges "are things people use to get together so they can open up and connect about ideas and music and other things people share," the narrator continues. In a universe that can make us feel alone, "maybe the reason we make all these things is to remind ourselves that we are not," the video concludes. Marketing analysis site Ad Age reported that Facebook doesn't plan to air the ad on television, instead using it on its own advertising platforms and a website that anyone can visit. While it's a celebration of the milestone, Facebook also clearly hopes the ad will help attract its next billion users. Facebook plans to advertise in 13 markets -- the U.S., UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Brazil, India, Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Russia. "We're creating this for our users, but we think it's a message that will be interesting and relevant to non-users as well," Rebecca Van Dyck, Facebook's head of consumer marketing, told the site. "We feel like we need to be respectful and introduce ourselves and to say 'This is what we believe in' and 'Come on board.' " if(typeof CNN.expElements==='object'){CNN.expElements.init();}