Dive Brief: 

• Dating app Tinder is expanding its global brand platform, “It Starts With A Swipe,” ahead of Dating Sunday on Jan. 7 according to details shared with Marketing Dive. Dating Sunday is considered the busiest day of the year for online dating. 
• The campaign’s latest hero ads highlight Tinder’s ability to help people find long-term relationships through colorful, flirty scenarios. The effort, which includes four new spots, emphasizes fluidity and diversity to reach Gen Z.  
• The marketing push was created in partnership with creative agency of record Mischief @ No Fixed Address and will span connected TV and out-of-home OOH placements. It initially rolls out in the U.S., Mexico, Germany, Brazil and Thailand.   

Dive Insight: 

Perhaps it’s the fresh start implied by a calendar change, the approach of Valentine’s Day or even the leftover pressure from holiday family gatherings finally easing, but the new year seems to also bring the hope of finding new love.

According to Tinder, activity on its app spikes on the first Sunday after the new year, known as Dating Sunday, with likes sent increasing by 18% and the number of messages sent increasing by 22%. In the roughly six weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, more than 2,263 photos are added to Tinder profiles every minute and more than 500 bios are edited per minute.

Tinder is trying to capitalize on the jump in engagement with a fresh round of creative for its “It Starts With A Swipe” campaign. The brand platform launched last year is designed to give people hope that this may be the year that they find the connection they’ve been looking for. Colorful spots wink at Tinder’s reputation as a hookup app but turn those preconceptions around through storytelling. One ad, for instance, opens on a hallway of discarded clothes and suggestive music.

“One thing led to another on Tinder,” says a voiceover as the camera pans to a couple trying on clothes in front of a mirror in an apartment before another line, “Now you have a boyfriend and a second wardrobe,” is heard.

Another commercial depicts a person overtaken by ecstasy after “meeting an Italian guy on Tinder,” only to reveal that the pleasure is coming from the man’s knowledge of the best restaurants in the area. 

Another spot, “A Goodnight Kiss,” showcases a date that goes so perfectly that it stretches on until the sun comes up while a fourth ad, “New Last Name,” tells the story of a Tinder date gone well enough for a person to remove “Tinder” from their date’s name in their phone contacts. Themes of diversity throughout the ads could help the Match Group-owned platform form a stronger connection with the key younger demographic. 

“The work reflects the fluidity and diversity of Gen Z relationships because that’s what Tinder delivers: meaningful connections for all,” said Stephanie Danzi, senior vice president of global marketing at Tinder, in a statement.

The latest effort from Tinder follows other recent creative swings, including a tie-up with “Mean Girls” actor Jonathan Bennett to raise awareness about toxic behavior and online financial scams. The partnership was timed to World Romance Scam Prevention Day on Oct. 3, though in popular culture the date is often associated with the “Mean Girls” film’s iconic “What day is it?” line.