It’s not very often that marketing campaigns backfire quite as intensely as they have been the past couple of weeks. Apple’s symbolic destruction of some of the most loved mediums of self-expression didn’t have as much time in the limelight as it should have, given Bumble’s swift follow-up that asked women to be at least a little more promiscuous so the app could do better. Bumble insists that that’s not quite what they said; nevertheless, everyone agrees that that’s exactly what was meant. It certainly got enough people heated that there are now a not-so-insignificant number of people calling for mass boycotts of the app, which can’t be good news for the company that was trying to reignite dwindling profit and consumer interest.
When it was launched in 2014, Bumble was intended to be the dating app that gave women more control over the dating experience. Even back then, apps like Tinder had already gained a reputation for fostering a hookup culture that took more from women than was given in return. In Bumble’s unique model, only women could text first when a couple matched together. This didn’t mean that Bumble was limited to heterosexual, romantic relationships either. The platform recognized a diverse range of sexualities and orientations in order to ensure a safe place for everyone, and went beyond matching up romantic interests to matching BFFs (to find your platonic BFF) and Bizz (for professional networking). Bumble went public in 2021 and has been experiencing a significant decline in share value since something which even owning Badoo has not been able to help. Earlier this year, Bumble announced a staff restructuring plan that would lay off close to 30% of its workforce: some 350 individuals.
It’s in this light that Bumble recently announced an app revamp with a marketing plan in tandem, which unfortunately seems to have sunk the ship before it ever left the port. The actual updates to the app, which have flown almost under the radar, involve new features that take the burden of initiating conversation all the time off of women. The new function, aptly called ‘Opening Moves’, allows women to post icebreaker questions on their profiles, in reply to which men can make first contact. In the case of non-binary and same-sex matches, both sides can include and answer these prompts. According to CEO Lidiane Jones, this feature provided a comfortable “middle ground” that allowed women to retain control while sharing the burden of conversation. Accompanying the update was an array of billboard messages that popped up around major cities that told women that “a view of celibacy is not the answer” and “thou shalt not give up on dating and become a nun”.
This marketing sparked rightful outrage among netizens. It’s disenfranchising enough that a company thought it appropriate to be dismissive of women’s personal choices. However, it also speaks to a tone deafness to current pop-culture discourse that is nothing short of astonishing. The ongoing conversation surrounding the Man v Bear analogy, the intensity brought to the discussion by men that reinforces the same points that the analogy tries to reflect, and the growing weariness of women of having to defend themselves against victimisation and the negation of the violence perpetrated against them are forcing women to reevaluate the dating scene entirely. Bumble, as a platform that profits off advocating for women’s safety, raising its voice at this time to say that celibacy, or withdrawing from negative experiences, is not the answer, positions it very firmly in the camps that negate women’s choices made as a result of the experiences of womanhood.
The language used in the billboards is surprisingly aggressive as well. For one, the ‘you know full well’ sounds more like a scolding or an interrogation than anything else. It doesn’t support the new trend in the dating world with either increased space for platonic bonding or overhauling the app to ensure that it’s not fostering a culture that is contributing to the emotional fatigue that is driving people to embrace celibacy as a choice. The internet vitriol has already driven Bumble to issue a quick apology that nevertheless manages to capture the company’s understanding of where exactly it went wrong. Some of the perspectives that the company cites in its apology posts include the realisation that celibacy is a choice that should be respected, or maybe involuntary due to past trauma, in which case it should still be respected, or the result of restricted reproductive rights, which should also be respected, or not even a consideration, as in the case of the asexual communities whose choices should also be respected.
However, while it is interesting that Bumble apologised in public and is willing to take these criticisms on board, there are some who believe that all this may have been part of a greater plan. The axiom that ‘any publicity is good publicity’ is one that pops in and out of trend. This suggests that Bumble’s controversial fumble is a deliberate strategy to spark controversy and discussion. Andy Barr of 10 Yetis Crisis Communications PR agency certainly thinks so: “(It’s) a deliberate attempt to generate ‘noise’. Why? Because Google loves noise. Google rewards noise as it often can’t tell if that noise is positive or negative. Bumble users don’t really care what is said about the platform in the media.”
While the theory does have some merit, it’s doubtful whether such a strategy would deliberately attack the company’s fundamental values. And if so, will it work?
Perhaps only time will tell.
(Theruni Liyanage)