OkCupid’s Ads Honoring All Singles Are So Naughty, They’re Banned In Some Cities
Images via Mekanism
OkCupid, the first dating app to offer a whole gamut of gender and orientation options—which, as a result, makes it possibly the most inclusive, is once again shooting its arrow at the wide spectrum of singles looking to date after being kept indoors in the past year.
A new global out-of-home campaign, helmed by advertising agency Mekanism, envisions Every Single Person of various preferences and beliefs in cheeky prints by visual artist Maurizio Cattelan of banana-art fame and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari.
Featuring diverse models, the visual metaphors are funnier the longer you look at them; there’s a “tree-hugger” whose wood is erected with a sprinkling of moisture, a “heavy petter” with seven dogs, and “every single person” getting together for a tryst. Those who’d rather stay at home—the “introverts”—are depicted by a person sticking their head under their partner’s shirt.
Of course, the activation includes a shoutout to daters who are vaccinated, represented by an image of two mouths fervently exchanging saliva. OkCupid, one of several dating apps that have teamed up with the White House in a vaccination push, is rewarding users with paid features in exchange for getting their jabs, along with introducing an option for users to get matched only with vaccinated individuals.
As reported by The Drum, OkCupid has expanded its already progressive tags acknowledging 22 gender identities and 20 orientations to cover more than 60, in conjunction with the Human Rights Campaign and community experts. Through these posters, the brand hopes to “show everyone – from feminists to introverts to non-binary to pansexuals to vaxxers – that OkCupid is a place where they can feel welcomed,” said global chief marketing officer Melissa Hobley. “We have always been an exclusively inclusive dating app, and that will never change.”
The campaign was apparently so “provocative,” that a few of the visuals were reportedly prohibited from being displayed in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, The Drum learned.
The pushback was to be expected, though. “When you’re truly inclusive, you’re bound to offend someone,” Mekanism’s creative director Katrina Mustakas noted.
“We had to scramble to replace them in the ninth hour, but that won’t stop us from welcoming Every Single Person to OkCupid.”
[via The Drum, images via Mekanism]
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