Tinder’s new global campaign celebrates how Gen Z connects

Tinder has launched its first global brand campaign highlighting the different types of connections people can make on its platform, the company announced Monday. 

It Starts with A Swipe, shot by photo-digital artist Pol Kurucz and created by Mischief @ No Fixed Address, targets Gen Z users by celebrating the generation's capacity to make diverse connections that span the gamut of identities, from hetero-normative or gender fluid to exclusive relationships or one night stands. 

The campaign embraces Tinder’s reputation as a hookup app, while also challenging the perception and giving users a glimpse into the many other connections people can make through the platform, Melissa Hobley, global CMO at Tinder, told Campaign US. 

She cited data that more than 42% of Tinder users say they are looking for something long-term, while an estimated 70% of LGBTQ relationships that get serious start on the app.  

“The smallest relationship type that people are looking for is short-term,” she said. “However, I hope the era of slut shaming is also over. And so we are saying if you want to hook up and you want to get laid, we got you, awesome. But we also power a lot of other possibilities.” 

The campaign rolls out with art featuring diverse cast and crew members showcasing different aspects of relationships, including milestones such as meeting friends, leaving a toothbrush at their place or meeting their parents. 

Assets shared digitally and on OOH placements in New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, Madrid, Paris, London, Melbourne and Sydney feature images of modern couples – some actors, some real – showing affection for one another alongside phrases such as “comfortable silences,” and “realizing you’re not dead inside.”

Tinder is also partnering with influencers, running digital video spots on social media and buying podcast ads as part of the campaign. 

To accurately reflect the diversity of Tinder users and Gen Z, the company partnered with Biscuit to create the digital video spots, which has a 50-50 male and female director roster. The campaign includes heavy female as well as BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ representation, including members of the trans and non-binary community. 

The effort is based on insights that show Tinder sparks many LGBTQIA+ relationships, as well as interracial marriages. It is a responsibility for Tinder to showcase all types of love, Hobley said. 

“Dating can be hard, and so we wanted to show that fairytale, surreal, lush, beautiful side of when you're first seeing someone,” she said. 

Inspiration for the campaign also came from real Tinder users’ anecdotes, as well as those from Gen Zers entering the dating scene. For example, Hobley said a conversation with a friend in which she said “one swipe changed [her] life” served as the inspiration for the campaign’s tagline. 

The copy for the campaign, which aims to celebrate the many different aspects of a romantic relationship, came from a conversation with a Gen Zer who said they just want to find someone who understands their For You Page on TikTok. 

Later iterations of the campaign will feature other relationship dynamics, such as being paw parents or someone’s permanent plus one (another way Gen Zers describe relationships). Tinder will also highlight compatible astrology signs, Tinder match marriages, finding someone who isn’t afraid to ask for directions or to make TikTok dances with and fighting climate change together.

Tinder is the top most-downloaded app by 18-year-olds, with the majority of Tinder members between the ages of 18 to 25. LGBTQIA+ members are also the fastest growing group on Tinder, and members aged 18 to 25 that identify as LGBTQIA+ on Tinder have more than doubled in the last 2 years.