No love for these imperfect ads!
After Match.com posted ads all over the London Underground system with the hashtag “#LoveYourImperfections,” the dating site has faced mounting backlash.
The large posters feature a close-up shot of a freckled, red-haired woman and read, “If you don’t like your imperfections, someone else will.”
Its message was not lost on passersby. “No @Match – #freckles are not imperfections…#frecklesarebeautiful,” one user, Rakhee, captioned a proud pic of her freckled face. “Stop judging people on skin pigmentation.”
Pseudo #loveyourimperfections bullshit. Theres no perfect/imperfect. Certainly not defined by advertising execs. pic.twitter.com/SrY1ZuIxO7
— Lucy Grace (@lucygrrrace) April 11, 2016
And hers isn’t the only negative response. “Dear @Match – these are my #freckles, not my #imperfections – whether people like them or not,” Charlie Clemmow wrote along with a side-by-side image of the ad and a selfie.
For some, it wasn’t only outrage over the ad itself, it was how it made them feel. “@Match look… Freckles! I have to walk past your ad calling them ‘imperfection’ every morning,” Heather DeLand wrote. “Cheers!”
Other ads in the website’s campaign include a closeup of a man with two different colored eyes and witticisms about people who can’t pronounce a road in London correctly, or those who leave their passes for the train at home. The U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority has received complaints about the ads but has not launched an investigation, The Guardian reports.
Match.com is now in the process of removing the campaign from the Tube. “We have taken note of the response about our advert concerning freckles. Following this feedback, we are in discussions with our relevant partners about removing these posters as soon as possible,” a statement from the company to Mashable read. “We believe freckles are beautiful. The intention of our ‘Love Your Imperfections’ campaign is to focus on the quirks and idiosyncrasies that people wrongly perceive to be imperfections — this can include freckles, a feature that is sometimes seen as an imperfection by people who have them. We’re sorry if this ad has been interpreted in a different way and we apologize for any offense caused, this was not our intention.”
The dating site still hopes viewers will see their intentions differently. “Our overall campaign is all about celebrating perceived physical and behavioral imperfections, from having freckles to being chubby, messy or clumsy,” they continued. “The adverts are designed to encourage everyone to be proud of their individuality, as the features that make us unique are often the ones that make us most attractive.”
What do you think of the freckled ads?
