Match: A fresh approach to online dating

The assumption that single people are sad, lonely, and desperate may have worked in the 90s, but that was 30 years ago. Even the gospel according to Carrie Bradshaw has a use-by date. And the notion that we can only be happy once we’ve found ‘the one’ (whatever that means) is as outdated as Meg Ryan’s perm in When Harry Met Sally.

Enter stage left – match’s campaign ‘Do you’. This campaign speaks to the online dating audience as they want to be heard. We’re living in an age of sexual freedom, opportunity, and the natural order of things has (finally) been restored. There is no we without I.

The tone

With this campaign, match show their ever changing audience that they too, have moved with the times.

The tone of this campaign is assertive, single-minded (pun intentional) and champions the customer. This campaign empathises with an exasperated, overly stimulated, and quite frankly exhausted audience and gives permission for them to focus on what they truly need to focus on, themselves.

The assertive tone also proves that match, just like their audience, is not desperate, needy, or in any rush to jump into something that isn’t right for them. Why? Because match cares about you.

What works

Williamsburg has enough bars, why lower yours?

Clever use of location-based copy, without the cringe. They’ve used the same line in multiple locations (subbing Williamsburg for Venice, and so on), and it still works.

If they’re only hot, and you’re only bothered, make yourself hot and bothered

Taking a well-known saying and splitting it apart achieves two things for the customer: instant recognition and a wry smile. The real hook of this campaign though, is the association of your time being more precious than the search for true love.

Words we love

You

The focus on the word ‘you’ actively encourages people to focus on themselves first, and then turn to dating. It’s unexpected, and because of that, it increases affinity. It’s the dating equivalent of Maybelline’s iconic ‘because you’re worth it’ tagline – but much cooler.

Currency without cringe

So often, when brands try to use current vernacular, it falls flat. But with this campaign, lines like “If they’re the ghosting type, be your own boo” and “If all they talk about is crypto, invest in yourself”, the language takes current themes and pulls them together in unexpected ways. It works because the vernacular isn’t connected to a hard sell – it’s connected to a feeling.

How to recreate it

Challenge the assumption

In this case, the assumption is that all singles are doe-eyed romantics. Flip it on its head. And then see what happens.

Be racy

When was the last time you saw billboards about masturbation? But be racy with caution – see point below.

Pair with high-fashion photography

These ads could have gone so, so wrong, if the images were smutty. But choosing photographer and filmmaker Matt Lambert  who shoots for the likes of Vogue US, Commes Des Garcons, and YSL Beauty – was a stroke of genius. It lifted the OOH out of the gutter and into aspiration.