Tinder Takes on the Skeptics, Claiming Dating App Fatigue Is ‘Overstated’

Dating apps have gotten a bad rap lately, so Tinder is taking on the skeptics with playful ads that flip the script on negative narratives about modern dating.   

Tinder has unveiled the latest chapter of its “It Starts With a Swipe” campaign by once again inviting daters to reconsider what they thought they knew about the app. Created by agency of record Mischief @ No Fixed Address, the new ads underscore how “it sucks to be wrong” about a lot of things, but “it’s great to be wrong about Tinder.” 

A man misjudges how much spicy food he can handle on date night. A couple arrives at a hotel for a romantic getaway and stumbles upon an unusual convention. Another pair of daters discover a surprising reveal at an art class. 

Each of these scenarios highlight the unexpected, chaotic, and humorous side of dating, made lighter by having found a special person on Tinder. 

“People often go on Tinder not knowing what to expect and find themselves meeting cool people. It feels really good to be pleasantly surprised,” Stephanie Danzi, svp of global marketing at Tinder, told ADWEEK. 

The campaign launches in the U.S. on Dec. 26 and will roll out globally over the next few months. It coincides with a busy period for online dating from January until Valentine’s Day, when previously, Tinder has seen 2.1 million more messages and 298.4 million more ‘likes’ sent per day internationally compared to the rest of the year’s average. 

During this peak season, fellow Match Group-owned app Hinge is also running a campaign to entice new users. 

Tinder’s message remains consistent: the app works. According to its own data, a new relationship starts on Tinder every three seconds. 

“If you hear someone share a Tinder success story, they’ll often start by saying, ‘It’s a funny story; we met on Tinder.’ It’s this disbelief, which is ironic, because it’s how so many people meet,” Danzi said. 

Swiping away a stigma

Beginning in 2023, Tinder’s “It Starts With a Swipe,” developed by Mischief, has aimed to overturn misconceptions about the platform, which over its 12-year history became known as a hookup app.

In several iterations of the campaign, Tinder has emphasized that it can also facilitate meaningful, long-lasting connections. Ads have ranged from celebrating dating micro-milestones to reimagining romantic comedies for the digital age [below].  

The brand has also doubled down on its goal through product innovations, which this year have included an AI-powered tool to help select profile pictures and the “Share My Date” safety feature, which allows users to share their plans with friends and family.

Match Group has credited the campaign with growing Tinder’s users and changing its brand perception. However, in Q3, Tinder’s monthly active users dropped 9% year on year, while direct revenue fell 1% to $503 million.

Tinder remains the most downloaded dating app in the world, per data from Statista.

An ‘overstated’ narrative

While Danzi said “It Starts With a Swipe” has been gradually changing Tinder’s hookup reputation, the brand still faces a marketing challenge shared by its rivals: “People question if Tinder and dating apps can really lead to ‘forever.’”

In recent years, there has been a growing conversation about “dating app fatigue,” alongside reports that the apps are turning off users, especially younger people.  A 2023 Axios / Generation Lab survey revealed that 79% of college and graduate students in the U.S. don’t use any dating apps even as infrequently as once a month. 

But according to Danzi, this narrative about dating app burnout is “overstated.”

“The reality is, Tinder is still the world’s most popular dating app and the largest gateway to relationships. [Apps] are how many people are dating,” she said. 

People often blame the general challenges of dating on the apps, she argued: “There’s a piece to be done in reminding people that dating takes a bit of effort. As the world has gotten more digital, there’s an expectation that using an app gets you immediate success.”  

Gen Z is Tinder’s biggest cohort, according to Danzi, but this generation has different perceptions of dating apps shaped by their experiences. One is that “they didn’t date before dating apps. For people new to dating, it’s vulnerable and hard,” Danzi said.

“Second, life milestones are happening later for Gen Z, if at all, which changes how much you’re prioritizing dating,” she continued. 

Danzi pointed to a promising trend, however: “We’ve seen a bit of a decline in situationships [a term for casual dating] and a rise in people taking charge of what they want and deserve. People are realizing it takes work,” she said. “That’s going to be a positive flip for how they date and the dating app category overall.” 

Over the coming year, people can expect more marketing and product innovation from Tinder “to help inspire that hopefulness,” Danzi said. “We understand that dating can be messier and more confusing than you wanted it to be. But we also know there’s hope and beauty on the other side.”