OkCupid Is All About Giving People The DTF Experience — Here’s Why
Dating is hard, no one can deny that. We just want true love to show up at our doorsteps, or, if not that, then on our phone screens.
While pure intentions may have been the foundation for the start of many of these apps, they have slowly picked up reputations for being far from chivalrous.
Our digital age and the product of it, millennials & Gen Z, had trained us to expect things as quick as we can think it. Brands like Netflix, Amazon, and Instagram have helped us develop lifestyles where we can get what we want, whenever we want, and all, with the press of a button. Just take a second to think about the “One-Click” payment options found on Amazon. The speed at which things can be ordered and retrieved is both spectacular and alarming.
These, ever complex, generational groups have created a new market in the love deparment, thus marking the dawn of a new age.
Apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Grindr have taken it upon themselves to try and fulfill a deep seated human need — love. You can survey your options, swipe right or left, find your next hookup with a simple DM, and not even have to get out of your pajamas in the morning.
However, these generations are changing, again. Millennials, especially, are growing older, and with that comes the desire for less and less one-night-stands and late-night booty calls. They are searching for something, “real,” because priorities have matured. Commitment is becoming the new gold standard.
It’s no surprise to most that while scrolling through these old dating apps, like a Tinder, the kind of connection we crave cannot be so easily found, because, real connection takes time.
Much like a flower, which blooms over a finite amount of time, so too, do meaningful relationships.
If you get on a dating app, more than likely you are looking for short-term. End of story.
Despite it all, there’s an app that has decided to change this, and has conformed to the wants and needs of its audience. This app is OkCupid, and with the launch of their latest “DTF Campaign,” they are changing the dating narrative, if only for a split second.
The campaign speaks to the subtle questions we’ve all been silently asking — what do we actually want out of a relationship and can it be made easily accessible? All that’s required is a simple quiz that tells OKCupid a little bit about you, and what you are looking for.
It asks questions like, “What kinds of connections are you open to” and “Do you enjoy discussing politics” so that you can decide for yourself what will best suite your relational needs. You have control of who sees you, and who you want to see — all in the palm of your hands.
Now, you may be thinking Well, DTF…doesn’t that mean…yes — and let me stop you there (for those who somehow don’t know what that means, educate yourself here on some slang). OKCupid is capitalizing on this commonly-used acronym and giving it far more depth than just…well…you know. Even if you are DTF, you could also be DTFacetime all night, or DTFrench kiss, or even DTFloss your teeth.
OKCupid has, with a simple acronym, made an effort to redefine social norms when it comes to making connections. They are letting the individual decide what they want for themselves, and providing them the environment (their app) to do so. Whether it be a spouse, significant other, lover, hookup, or best friend, you can swipe right or left until you find the perfect person for you, and know their intentions are the same as yours.
By simply assessing your wants, OKCupid pairs you with individuals who share similar interests with you, giving you results you can be certain of.
Brilliant right? With colorful ads and verbiage as bold as their creators, it is hard to miss this campaign, and even harder to turn down the message.
The importance of knowing your audience cannot be stated enough and is something we have found ourselves constantly harping on the more we dig into campaigns.
OkCupid chose bright colors with pop/minimalistic aesthetic to speak to a younger audience. It is no surprise that their is a certain aesthetic manner that must be displayed to garner the attention of millennials and we have seen many brands do this like Hims, Thinx, & Casper.
The strategy lies in the utilization of slang term thrown around by younger generations coupled with aesthetic they align with, strengthened by the foundation of the human desire for real connection in the pursuit of love.
All campaigns need to have a point and clear issue they are trying to solve, after than it comes down to how it is presented. If you know your audience and what they are into, they you know how to attract them. After that it comes down to execution.
While this campaign isn’t perfect, it does hit on the points above and offers a fun, unique, way of thinking about dating in the modern age for an ever changing generation.
As someone who met their current significant other on Bumble, I am a strong believer in dating apps, and that it’s okay to try and make the connections you find on them deeper.
I know it’s hard to do, since you don’t always know exactly who they are or what they want, but I know it is possible, and OkCupid has just made this possibility, significantly more attainable.
Those who brought dating apps into the light are now leaving it, and leaving their old ways behind them with it. With that, OKCupid is shining the light for us, leading us to the connections of our dreams.
So am I DTF? Yeah, I’m DTFully support this campaign.
