Bumble removes ‘vow of celibacy’ ads following backlash

Bumble is removing ads with the tagline “a vow of celibacy is not the answer,” following backlash from consumers.

"Women’s experiences are at the center of what we do at Bumble,” a Bumble spokesperson said via email. “As part of our recent marketing campaign, we included an ad with language around celibacy as a response to the frustrations of dating.”

The spokesperson said Bumble has heard the concerns about the ad’s language and understands that rather than highlighting a sentiment towards dating, it may have had a negative impact on some of the app’s community members.

1/2 — What disgusts me about this is, most people I know at most want a few weeks/months to get to know someone before being intimate.

We’re NOT even talking celibacy here, just; “who the f*ck are you before I f*ck you”.

Setting ANY boundaries has become hard in this culture. https://t.co/IUfTlNXSGI

— Anne - Duchess Of Success (@TheDuchessZone) May 13, 2024

“This was not our intention and we are in the process of removing it from our marketing campaign, and will continue to listen to the feedback from our members,” the spokesperson said.

The ads were part of a global campaign Bumble unveiled last month to mark a refreshed visual identity and the launch of a feature for the women-first dating app. Created by Bumble’s in-house creative team, “We’ve changed so you don’t have to” coincides with the app introducing the Opening Moves feature.

Tess Allen, a senior marketing manager at Stay Ai, wrote on LinkedIn that the celibacy ad is “icky because it’s insinuating that Bumble knows better than me—stop questioning women’s autonomy.”

The ad left Alyse Biro “angry, disappointed and disgusted,” as she explained on LinkedIn that it suggests “women don’t really know what they want.”

“I fear it may be worse than just falling flat; it may be the Bud Light of 2024,” said Biro.

Jo Bromilow, a social strategy director at Golin, also wrote on LinkedIn that the ad “opened a can of worms about shaming, judgment and the murky undercurrent of the dating app world as a whole.”