To our beloved Bumble Community: We made a mistake. Our ads referencing celibacy were an attempt to lean into a community frustrated by modern dating, and instead of bringing joy and humor, we unintentionally did the opposite. Some of the perspectives we heard were: from those who shared that celibacy is the only answer when reproductive rights are continuously restricted; from others for whom celibacy is a choice, one that we respect; and from the asexual community, for whom celibacy can have a particular meaning and importance, which should not be diminished. We are also aware that for many, celibacy may be brought on by harm or trauma. For years, Bumble has passionately stood up for women and marginalized communities, and their right to fully exercise personal choice. We didn't live up to these values with this campaign and we apologize for the harm it caused. So, here's what we're doing: We're removing these ads from our global marketing campaign. Bumble will be making a donation to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, among other organizations, as a part of our ongoing efforts to support the work being done around the world to support women, marginalized communities, and those impacted by abuse. We will also be offering these partners this billboard space to display an ad of their choice for the duration of our reserved billboard time. Please keep speaking up and telling us how we can be better. We care about you and will always be here for you. With love and sincere appreciation, Bumble 💛
This is a good apology and I appreciate the action, but the ad should never have been cleared in the first place. It had to go through multiple stages of feedback and review, which demonstrates a lack of perspectives from people who would have flagged these issues. It’s critical to institutionalize training in cultural competency and DEI from the top down, as well as making sure to hire and include people with trauma-informed and queer (among others) experiences and perspectives. If there were different voices in the room, this ad would never have seen the light of day and Bumble Inc. could have prevented this harm.
The ad apology and the current updates to the app mean nothing. What did Bumble think was joking or funny? As someone fluent in sarcasm—there was none detected in this campaign. Considering the 4B movement is trending everywhere, I highly recommend Bumble hire some new marketing talent, and that Bumble’s product team focus and why your users feel the way they do, in order to win people back by creating an ✨actually✨ inclusive, safe, and supportive product. Dating apps have created a culture where people are constantly made disposable to others, and deceit is rampant. I’ll give you two freebies… Bumble can start by making answering ALL of the filter questions mandatory, and requiring facial confirmation and/or ID verification to join the app. Inbox me for hired consulting on the rest—seriously. As someone who’s been on and off dating apps since the AOL chat room days, there is soooo much apps like Bumble can be doing, that people would probably even pay for and value. Online dating in 2024 makes me miss the A/S/L convos and Plenty of Fish 😂 THIS ISNT IT 😤
Please prioritize hiring diverse marketing and advertising staff. It is very overwhelmingly apperant that these off color campaigns are coming from a very specific viewpoint. And looking at the comments it’s overarching into things like social media. You can’t market to women and other consumer subsets without having them on your team and actually doing testing.
Bumble you should donate to Fumble, an award-winning youth sex & relationships education charity in the UK! We're created with young people, for young people, leading the way to support their health and wellbeing in the digital age. 💪 We love your apology, keep learning and growing! ✨
Thanks for removing it. But I do wonder what level of analysis was done prior to this messaging going live. A lot of pre-work goes into launching a global campaign. As someone who played a small role in marketing for a global CPG company, NO verbiage for a simple blender product saw the light of day without CMI research, surveys, and internal rounds of approval. And that was about selling an inanimate object that makes smoothies. You’re selling connection for people. The stakes are higher. All things considered, this was a well-written post but I think this will become a great case study for the marketing community to learn from.
Bumble Inc. DEI initiatives and support isn't something everyone understands, and I respect that. Perhaps looking into DEI training for your team might help avoid mistakes in the future, and educate your team so they can be inclusive. There's a wonderful organization called blendvet™ they are a DEI forward organization within the Veterinary space, working incredibly hard to educate humans so we can be inclusive, supportive, and allow all humans to feel safe. You may want to reach out to them and see if they might have any recommendations for good DEI training programs since I believe they are for the veterinary space. I hope this helps, and thank you for holding yourselves accountable.
This is just the latest disappointing ad from Bumble, one social media post for reference which invalidates the experience of so many women who have been on dangerous dates. It's hard to accept this apology when it keeps happening.
Was this campaign done by an in-house team? An agency? Who were the decision makers? Are you correcting these things so future ads / marketing better reflect the brand?
Communications professional in the NHS
2moGood apology but super concerning the adverts reached going live. Part of being sex-positive, is being accepting and non judgemental about people not wanting to have sex - for whatever reason. This ties into positive consent culture too. Personally, I grew up in Northern Ireland where abortion was illegal. I was a first generation A Level student and uni grad. I was terrified of pregnancy - in itself and how it would trap me in NI and limit my life path. And all the boys I grew up around were very sexist. I chose to remain celibate to I moved to England at age 21 (where abortion was legal). I made a good choice. I was frustrated at times in NI/felt behind peers, but it was not a safe country for me to have sex with men in. Also, I am bi but grew up in a very homophobic culture so couldn't accept being so to I moved to London age 23. I will not overshare on here but me at 30 (a worldly woman ha) vs me at 20 (virgin, chose to be celibate)...polar opposites. Celibacy is a valid choice always and a positive choice, often.