Washington D.C. Rejects OKCupid’s New Politically-Charged Ad Campaign Targeting Alt-Right, President Trump – By Alexandra Hutzler (newsweek.com) / July 28 2018
The popular dating website OKCupid has been prevented from putting up political advertisements by the Washington D.C. metro system.
The ad campaign riffs off the popular acronym “DTF” with phrases like “Down to Fantasize about 2020” and “Down to Filter Out the Far Right.” These two ads were rejected by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
OKCupid chief marketing officer Melissa Hobley told Adweek that the new campaign was made to represent what people care about and highlight important societal issues.
OkCupid CMO says the app's ‘DTF’ campaign boosted buzz 50%, but isn’t welcome everywhere: https://t.co/ptsYbgX5UO pic.twitter.com/TkQ6rJfx5p
— AdFreak (@AdFreak) July 20, 2018
“In the current political and social climate, we felt a responsibility and saw an opportunity to play a part in changing the conversation about dating culture and empowering each individual to reclaim the meaning of DTF and make it theirs,” Hobley said.
OKCupid began launching the ad campaign in the capitol earlier this month with posters and billboards featuring strong politically-themed messages. The ads started rolling out on Metro subway cars and bike sharing companies and will pick up in bars and other venues around the city later this summer.
The less political ads feature slogans like “Down to Fall Head over Heels” and “Down to Finish My Novel.” But even the not politically-themed ads have been causing a stir in cities across the country. After they were introduced in Chicago earlier this year they’ve been banned by O’Hare International Airport and the Chicago Transit Authority.
The OkCupid application is demonstrated for a photograph on an Apple Inc. iPhone in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017. The dating app launched a new politically-themed ad campaign. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Hobley also told The Hill that OKCupid was “disappointed” that the specifically political ads were rejected by the D.C. transit authority, saying that “the ad imagery reflects what OkCupid users are talking about when it comes to dating, and this campaign puts it all out in the open.”
The ads aren’t the only political statements the company has been pushing. On its Twitter page, OKCupid has been posting more and more about hot-button issues like gun control, reproductive rights and other social justice issues. One post said that a dating deal breaker would be if they don’t “support the ACLU.”
Many companies sometimes seek out controversy in order to boost publicity.
Does not support the ACLU #DealbreakersIn5Words
— OkCupid (@okcupid) June 28, 2018
https://www.newsweek.com/washington-metro-rejects-okcupid-political-ads-1046644
