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Samantha slips from a ladder while reaching for a book in the library, but just at the right moment, John steps in to catch her. It’s a classic meet cute moment, reminiscent of countless sentimental scenes from romantic comedies.
But this meet cute didn’t happen in real life. As Samantha fumbles over her words, it becomes clear that this interaction actually played out on a dating app, specifically Tinder.
“Meet cutes happen every day on Tinder, just not like they do in the movies,” the voiceover says.
Tinder has gone full romcom in the latest chapter of its ongoing global campaign, “It Starts With a Swipe.” As the brand continues its attempt to woo audiences who are disillusioned by dating apps, this time it wants to challenge “inaccurate perceptions of how romances should start, which can get in the way of real love and connection,” chief marketing officer Melissa Hobley told ADWEEK.
“It doesn’t have to start like a romcom to become a romance,” she said.
Created by agency Mischief @ No Fixed Address, the three new ads are inspired by the first messages of real couples who met on Tinder.
“Rescue,” set in the library described above, is the first time that Tinder has worked with celebrities in this campaign. It features actors Lana Condor (star of Netflix’s To All the Boys film franchise) and Evan Mock (from HBO’s 2021 Gossip Girl remake) as Samantha and John.
The fantasy scene imagines what Samantha and John’s initial interaction would have looked like if they had met in real life first. In homage to the genre’s most recognizable moments, the soundtrack is Sixpence None the Richer’s “Kiss Me,” which became famous as the theme song for 1999 teen romantic comedy She’s All That.
A second spot, “Rain,” illustrates Tinder messages between Kate and Lain, whose encounter is rife with romcom tropes: They find each other in a field of flowers in the middle of a rainstorm. As one of them shares the details of her astrological birth chart, they embrace under parting clouds that reveal the message bubbles of their Tinder chat.
