Black-Owned Social Network Spill Accuses Global Media Company Of Cloning Its Platform
Global advertising agency 72andSunny is facing backlash after launching a new app that critics say mimics Spill, a Black-owned next generation social platform designed to put culture first.
According to Kenya T. Parham, Spill’s Chief Growth Officer, 72andSunny’s Amsterdam office unveiled an app called SPIL*, which shares striking similarities with Spill. In a now-deleted LinkedIn post, the agency described SPIL as “a new type of news brand, made specifically for Gen Z in Europe.”
Several Spill community members voiced their disappointment directly on the agency’s LinkedIn post before it was taken down. Instead of addressing the criticism or acknowledging the parallels, 72andSunny deleted the announcement altogether.
Spill versus SPIL*
72andSunny, a subsidiary of Stagwell, has worked with brands including Google, adidas, Activision Blizzard, Dropbox, eBay, The New York Times, and Venmo. The agency has been named Agency of the Year by Ad Age and Adweek and recognized by Fast Company as one of the most innovative.
In response to SPIL*, Parham released a video comparing the two apps. She highlighted similarities in fonts, colors, and imagery, contrasting them with 72andSunny’s claim that it had “created the brand from scratch with our partners” and was serving diverse audiences.
“We started building Spill in 2023 because we were tired of seeing Black, Brown, and queer creators having their trends co-opted by and stolen without proper credit, and we know we need safe spaces now more than ever before to gather online,” Parham said.
“So thank you, 72andSunny, I think we’re going to create our own agency. Go to www.69andSHADY.com to learn about the future of social media.”
The agency commented on the video, saying, “SPILL community, we’ve read your comments and intended absolutely no harm. We are currently looking into this situation internally and are looking to have a discussion with SPILL leadership as soon as reasonably possible.”
About Spill
Spill was launched in 2023 by CEO Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell and CTO DeVaris Brown, who were both former Twitter employees. The two met on their first day working at Twitter after noticing they were the only Black men on their team. However, when Elon Musk bought Twitter, Terrell was laid off from his role as the global head of social and editorial.
It raised $5 million in pre-seed funding, including a recent $2 million extension round led by Collide Capital. In 2025, it invited its members to become investors. The social media platform announced that it is launching an equity crowdfunding round, allowing users to invest in the company as it grows. The crowdfunding round opened on March 10.
It is expected to reach $1 million in annualized revenue by the end of 2025 and saw a 285% increase in user signups in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Image: Kenya T. Parham
