True.com Ads are Borderline Pornographic - No Doubt Effective
Online mainstream personals sites such as Match.com and True.com are taking a trick of the trade from the pornography marketer's toolbox and showing interactive, obviously bored and available to chat, "web cam girls" in their ads.
Although these ads have four equal sides, they are anything but square. Commonly found alongside back end Myspace control panels, these flash-driven (no pun intended) video ads, appeal to the more superficial senses of male Myspacers, and act as direct response vehicles of users already in a social "make friends" mode.
**Warning: Large screen shot of corresponding ad example inside.**
Which Came First?
I am not sure if Match or True was the first to capitalize on this borrowed effective banner approach, but they are now both using it. Match has been around much longer, but True does not do any offline advertising. Thus, I surmise, True was the originator, choosing highly measurable online ROI results over a not as tightly measured television commercial branding campaign.
While Match attempted, at first, a more mainstream approach, True has been unapologetic in their online banner campaigns showing well photographed, unusually attractive, women targeted at mostly a male audience.
Truly Innovative
The banner formula shows a seemingly never-ending loop of a live, one-on-one conversation (breaking the fourth wall online) in an attempt to engage the user either through a false chat invitation or with the hope that that specific female will be available to message on the site.
This is quite different than True's earlier campaigns showing a static stock photo of an exceptionally attractive person, and hoping the branding will eventually stick in a user’s mind when the time is right. Both directions have turned away from True’s original unique selling proposition (USP) that they are the only online personals site that does background checks on all their members to ensure their singles are truly single, or at least not married.
It’s Not Okay to Insult Your Customers
Match has taken this formula up a notch by blending its current offline “It’s okay to look,†but “It’s not ok to stare†campaign in some kind of 1st person/voyeuristic/Big Brother direction, where the viewer is caught checking out some female stranger working out or fixing her dress. They are running TV commercials mirroring their online interactive advertising campaign efforts.
Although definitely a far cry from their Dr. Phil endorsement days, I personally find the new Match campaign insulting to men. The last thing any male wants is to be chastised and emasculated by an unknown woman after just being told “It’s Okay to look.†True’s campaigns are what they are, unapologetic and shameless, which is fine. Match.com, get a new angle!
Which Came First?
I am not sure if Match or True was the first to capitalize on this borrowed effective banner approach, but they are now both using it. Match has been around much longer, but True does not do any offline advertising. Thus, I surmise, True was the originator, choosing highly measurable online ROI results over a not as tightly measured television commercial branding campaign.
While Match attempted, at first, a more mainstream approach, True has been unapologetic in their online banner campaigns showing well photographed, unusually attractive, women targeted at mostly a male audience.
Truly Innovative
The banner formula shows a seemingly never-ending loop of a live, one-on-one conversation (breaking the fourth wall online) in an attempt to engage the user either through a false chat invitation or with the hope that that specific female will be available to message on the site.
This is quite different than True's earlier campaigns showing a static stock photo of an exceptionally attractive person, and hoping the branding will eventually stick in a user’s mind when the time is right. Both directions have turned away from True’s original unique selling proposition (USP) that they are the only online personals site that does background checks on all their members to ensure their singles are truly single, or at least not married.
It’s Not Okay to Insult Your Customers
Match has taken this formula up a notch by blending its current offline “It’s okay to look,†but “It’s not ok to stare†campaign in some kind of 1st person/voyeuristic/Big Brother direction, where the viewer is caught checking out some female stranger working out or fixing her dress. They are running TV commercials mirroring their online interactive advertising campaign efforts.
Although definitely a far cry from their Dr. Phil endorsement days, I personally find the new Match campaign insulting to men. The last thing any male wants is to be chastised and emasculated by an unknown woman after just being told “It’s Okay to look.†True’s campaigns are what they are, unapologetic and shameless, which is fine. Match.com, get a new angle!
