Marketing Briefing: Backlash ‘a sign of the times’ as major brands like Apple and Bumble pull ads drawing ire

Creating an ad that will get noticed is a basic tenet of advertising. If marketers are going to shell out significant ad dollars for campaigns, they’re doing so with the hope of capturing consumer attention and moving the needle in whatever way will benefit the brand. But what happens if that provocative campaign has the opposite of its intended effect? 

On Monday, dating app Bumble was the latest marketer to quickly pull its most recent ad campaign after online backlash surfaced. The company had rolled out billboards that told consumers, “a vow of celibacy is not the answer,” a message likely aimed at getting some women to reconsider dating despite the difficult romantic landscape. That message, which was reportedly created by its in-house team, was seen as tone deaf by some consumers who made it clear to the app via comments on its Instagram account and elsewhere that they didn’t not care for the campaign — not by a long shot.