When Provocative Meets Problematic

Bumble’s ‘Anti-Celibacy’ campaign drew the ire of the public — and understandably so. When a dating platform built on foundations of safety, empowerment, and genuine connection (without forgetting the fun that comes from meeting new people) adopts a provocative new angle, it’s bound to elicit a heightened emotional response. With the goal of bringing a little humor to “a community frustrated by modern dating”, Bumble’s new direction represented an attempt by the brand to more deeply relate to its customers.

However, despite its light-hearted intentions, the campaign didn’t land as intended. The response through social media (which culminated in the campaign being shelved and a swift apology issued) mirrored the reaction we saw when showing the campaign to a representative audience of U.S. citizens.

While some found the ‘clever’ approach attention-grabbing (and somewhat amusing), it ultimately elicited a level of polarization that isn’t conducive to building a brand that sustains over the long-term. References to “celibacy not being the answer” and “not being a nun” resulted in two key issues:

1. With empowerment an important topic in the dating community, people felt the ‘pushy’ approach undermined women’s choices (and the reasons why celibacy may in fact be the right choice for many); and
2. While this was seen to be out-of-touch and distasteful, religious undertones further compounded the issue.

Together with limiting the breadth of the campaign’s appeal, it also ran contrary to the tone of voice the brand has carefully curated for itself over the years. While a sense of fun and playfulness has certainly played a part in some of the brand’s previous campaigns, it’s generally been balanced by themes of connection and empowerment — elements which this campaign lacked (and as a result felt out-of-sync with people’s expectations of Bumble).

Ultimately, ‘Anti-Celibacy’ again raises questions around the usefulness of being deliberately provocative when attempting to stand out. While there are certainly situations where this strategy can work, brands should keep the following in mind before going down this path: ‍

Know your category: Yes, the online dating category (and, let’s be real — hookups) affords you more leeway to push the boundaries (after all, younger people are more likely to be receptive to this strategy). However…‍

Know your consumer: The campaign lacked an insight that had broad relevance across the brand’s wider customer base. Although the idea of tapping into modern-day dating pain points — in a provocative way — may offer some commercial potential, it ultimately lacked relevance to the motivations (and values) of the vast majority of people who use online dating sites.‍

Know your brand: While Bumble quickly acknowledged its missteps, this could’ve been avoided entirely if the brand built off its existing positioning and memory structures instead (and/or tested the campaign among its target market prior to launch). The brand clearly has scope to lean into ‘fun and flirty’ (as demonstrated by past campaigns); however, taking a more ‘authoritative’ tone over women’s choices seemingly isn’t a territory the brand can stretch into (nor should it perhaps want to).

‍