Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg smiles in this office in Palo Alto, Calif.Paul Sakuma/The Associated Press
Facebook is like a chair. And also a doorbell.
It is like bridges, airplanes, dance floors, basketball. As it turns out, Facebook's first-ever commercial, launched on Thursday, is a lot like that time in English class when we all learned about the simile.
The company is celebrating its announcement that it now has a billion active users, by creating a brand campaign meant to compare the social network to all of the things that bring people together.
Called "The Things That Connect Us," the video launched, naturally, on Facebook (as well as YouTube ). It was created by ad agency Wieden + Kennedy, which was hired as the company's agency one year ago.
"For the first time in our history, we've made a brand video to express what our place is on this earth," founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a blog post. "We believe that the need to open up and connect is what makes us human."
The campaign also compares Facebook to "A great nation" – all things that people build to feel part of a community.
Wieden + Kennedy is also known for high-profile work for brands such as Nike and Old Spice .
The Facebook campaign will be released in 12 languages, and targeted especially to users in 13 key markets, including the United States, India, Brazil, Russia, and the U.K. (Canada did not make the list as a specific target, though of course the ad is visible everywhere.)
Facebook has been working to protect its image after an underwhelming initial public offering , doubts about the value of advertising on the site and recent additions to the list of privacy concerns levied against it.