Bumble's new global campaign has upset social media users, with some saying the messaging is a 'miss' for the brand. Photo / X
Bumble's new global campaign has upset social media users, with some saying the messaging is a 'miss' for the brand. Photo / X
A popular dating app has come under fire after the release of its new global advertising campaign.
New Bumble billboards have started popping up around the globe and, while they were seemingly intended to be a light-hearted message to provoke love seekers to use the app, it hasinstead struck a chord with social media users.
Alongside a picture of an app user, the billboard reads: “You know full well a vow of celibacy is not the answer”, with many slamming the message for being “gross”, news.com.au has reported.
Taking to X, one person wrote: “So apparently Bumble has billboards scolding women saying ‘You know full well celibacy is not the answer’. What. The. Heck? They didn’t even say not dating - they specifically said celibacy. Gross. Are women a product to be sold?”
Multiple signs with the same messaging have been seen around the world. Photo / X
Another said the message was “legitimately disgusting” and “disturbing”, while a third person wrote: “How dare you shame women for choosing not to engage in sex.”
Others said the message was a “miss” for the platform as it was initially created to empower women. The app works by only allowing a conversation to start if a woman messages the other person first.
In same-sex and non-binary matches, the conversation initiation is not limited to one person.
Speaking to the Australian news outlet, a representative for the dating platform said the campaign is now being removed.
“Women’s experiences are at the centre of what we do at Bumble. As part of our recent marketing campaign, we included an ad with language around celibacy as a response to the frustrations of dating,” the spokesperson said.
This new billboard as part of Bumble's global campaign has upset users of social media. Photo / X
“We have heard the concerns shared about the ad’s language and understand that rather than highlighting a current sentiment towards dating, it may have had a negative impact on some of our community.
“This was not our intention and we are in the process of removing it from our marketing campaign, and will continue to listen to the feedback from our members.”
They also issued an apology on social media, confessing: “We made a mistake”.
The app is currently undergoing a change and implementing a feature called “Opening Moves” in which female users can set up questions that male users can answer, thus initiating the conversation.
Bumble’s current CEO Lidiane Jones - who took over from founder Whitney Wolfe Herd - said the move “felt right” for the platform’s customers.
