Brief:

• Wrigley's Orbit Gum collaborated with Tinder on a chatbot to help people respond to off-color messages in the dating app, according to information emailed to Mobile Marketer.
• When Tinder users receive unsolicited off-color texts, they can send a personalized message from comedian Chris Parnell telling them to clean up their act. In addition to the chatbot, Parnell appears in 10 video snippets on Giphy that people can use to respond to inappropriate messages in dating or social media apps.
• The chatbot and Giphy integration are part of Orbit's broader "Keep It Clean" effort that includes six-, 15- and 60-second spots starring Parnell as a concerned father having "the talk." Instead of awkwardly explaining the "birds and the bees," Parnell provides humorous advice on how to clean up the online dating scene.

Insight:

Orbit Gum's collaboration with Tinder on a chatbot is geared toward a younger generation that's more likely to meet through dating apps, especially as the coronavirus pandemic hinders in-person meetups. Orbit aims to participate in those social conversations with its chatbot that sends snippets of Chris Parnell as a dad who mockingly disapproves of bad behavior. As Tinder users share Orbit's humorous take on messages that violate proper online dating etiquette, the brand can extend its reach among younger consumers who are difficult to reach through more traditional media channels.

Orbit's campaign also is notable for offering a library of related video snippets on Giphy, giving the brand another way to participate in social conversations. The GIF files show Parnell making different gestures that match the underlying caption, which include admonishments like, "gross," "go back to bed," "nope, I'm out" that are attuned to today's social conversations. Orbit is the latest brand to create shareable content for Giphy as part of a campaign, following similar efforts by Jif peanut butter, Papa John's Pizza, Pepsi and Wendy's.

The humorous tone of Orbit's latest campaign is reminiscent of the brand's "Orbit Girl" character who managed to keep her all-white attire perfectly clean in messy situations. With its latest campaign, Orbit again is emphasizing its "clean" qualities, but with an off-beat take that's geared for younger consumers who use social media and dating apps.

With its chatbot, Orbit is demonstrating another application for the messaging technology that continues to improve with advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) to help personalize the customer experience. Chatbot usage among consumers nearly doubled from 13% of people who said they used the conversational technology in 2019 to about 25% this year, a higher growth rate than for social media, online live chat with a person, phone calls and email, per a study by conversational marketing firm Drift.