Meta campaigns to change opinions on data centers

The advertisement began with a panning shot of Altoona, Iowa, a town of 20,000 near Des Moines. The camera moved from a diner to a farm to a high school football field. To the pluck of guitar strings, a voice-over promoted a boon for the local economy.

“We’re bringing jobs here,” the ad said. “For us, and for our next generation.”

The ad’s folksy vibes were not for a political candidate. They were for a data center that Meta had built in Altoona — part of an ad campaign by the Silicon Valley giant to shape a new narrative around the vast computing facilities that power artificial intelligence.