Bumble Goes Up Against Dating App Rivals With Amelia Dimoldenberg Partnership

Bumble, the women-focused dating and social networking app, is taking a new marketing direction as it unveils a partnership with celebrity interviewer and Chicken Shop Date creator Amelia Dimoldenberg. 

Dimoldenberg is the first star in Bumble’s year-long series of celebrity profiles and editorial content in collaboration with Mel Ottenberg, creative director and editor-in-chief of Interview Magazine. 

The launch marks Bumble’s move toward producing more lifestyle content that showcases the intersection between dating and culture, according to the brand. Following this campaign, the app will develop additional series styled by Ottenberg and created by women photographers and creatives such as Brianna Cappozi, who worked on Dimoldenberg’s videos.  

Bumble’s new initiative comes as its chief marketing officer, Selby Drummond, plans to leave the company this month. Drummond was at Bumble for four years, first as chief brand officer and then as CMO since July 2024.   

“In 2025, we are encouraging our community to uncompromisingly date their way and as their fullest, truest selves. There is no better partner than Amelia to help them do that,” Drummond said in a statement. “She has perfected the art of being unapologetically herself on a date and making the first move no matter who is on the other side of the table.” 

“Building on our own ten-year history as a company, we hope that we can inject some excitement and fresh energy into our community as we kick off a new year to continue to help them find the connections they are looking for,” she continued. 

Dimoldenberg, the British creator known for her YouTube series Chicken Shop Date, shares her “golden rules,” “ins and outs,” and “flirty firsts” for dating in Bumble’s videos, which will roll out over the next few weeks on the brand’s and creator’s social channels.  

Both Bumble and Chicken Shop Date, which counts more than 2.8 million subscribers on YouTube, marked their 10-year anniversaries in 2024. Over the decade, Dimoldenberg has cultivated a deadpan, flirtatious persona while interviewing celebrities such as Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Cher, and Paul Mescal in a first-date format that takes place across the U.K.’s fast-food chicken spots.  

Dimoldenberg has also recently gained fame beyond the U.K. for her red-carpet interviews, including a flirtation with actor Andrew Garfield that started at the 2023 Golden Globes and went viral (Garfield has since appeared on Chicken Shop Date). 

Fending off dating app burnout

Bumble’s launch coincides with a busy period for online dating between New Year’s and Valentine’s Day. Dating app rivals Tinder and Hinge are also running global campaigns. 

Like its competitors, Bumble is looking to woo users in an era of “dating app fatigue,” as research points to a growing dissatisfaction with online dating, particularly among younger people. 

Also among Bumble’s marketing challenges is overcoming a recent hit to its reputation after its 2024 rebrand sparked a backlash. 

In May 2024, the brand apologized for its campaign that included billboards reading, “You Know Full Well a Vow of Celibacy is Not the Answer” and “Thou Shall Not Give Up on Dating and Become a Nun.”

Critics said the ads ran counter to female empowerment by showing insensitivity to issues such as bodily autonomy, consent, the asexual community, and reproductive rights in the U.S. political climate.