Bumble reveals new campaign and key changes to its app
The dating app is launching its new design and features with a campaign that addresses the exhausting admin involved in finding a match
There’s a poster advert for supplement brand Floradix that probably claims the title for highest impact with lowest production value. ‘Tired of being tired?’ it asks, next to a photo of a woman yawning emphatically, most likely in unison with the thousands of commuters staring back at it.
Tiredness is a surprisingly powerful motivator, and one that dating app Bumble is leaning into with its new digital and OOH campaign, which is launching in ten countries. It was teased ahead of the launch with an AR activation involving enormous squishy Bumble-branded beds, along with meme content featuring paintings of “sleepy girls through the years” looking fed up and, frankly, shattered as they endure the arduous match-making process.
The latest phase of the campaign revolves around an ad showing a woman going to great lengths to abstain from dating altogether, by joining some kind of rehabilitation programme that looks as though it’s been envisioned by Margaret Atwood. It turns out her efforts were unnecessary, thanks to Bumble, of course.
This is joined by OOH adverts that range from the more universal (‘You do not have to resort to making eye contact on the Tube again’) to the highly targeted (‘Never date another walking Clapton meme again’), which once again tap into the language of social media trends.
The campaign is coinciding with the rollout of a new design system – including a tweaked logo that now more closely resembles a beehive, as well as new typography, illustrations and palettes – and an updated app experience involving its new Opening Moves feature.
Bumble was always known for giving women the option to start the conversation, but there was a growing feeling that it meant women ended up doing the heavy lifting. With Opening Moves, women can set an initial question (either their own or a preset) that people can respond to, the idea being that they can learn more about potential matches without necessarily having to do all the legwork.
Everything from the campaign to the new look and feel of the app have been led by the brand’s in-house agency, Bumble Creative Studio.
