The world’s most famous dolls probably don’t need a ton of help on the dating front, but Barbie and Ken are still getting on dating app Bumble to help brighten the day – and romantic fortunes – of its users.
After matching with versions of Barbie and Ken from the upcoming Barbie movie, users will not be able to ask the likes of Margot Robbie, Simu Liu and Issa Rae on a date, but they get words of support and encouragement on their dating journeys. The messages, meant to be fun and positive, fit into Bumble’s brand positioning around being kind, which was also the subject of a new campaign that launched last week.
In addition to promoting the new Barbie movie, the activation is also drawing attention to Bumble’s “Compliments” feature, which allows users to send a short message to someone before they match. Among the words of support Barbie and Ken provide users will be suggestions for compliments that will start conversations off on the right foot.
“The power of kindness in creating healthy connections and relationships is undeniable, and Compliments is just one of the many ways we empower our community to lead by example and make more meaningful first moves,” said Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder and CEO of Bumble. “We’ve seen this approach lead to a higher likelihood of matching and quality chats amongst our members, and we’ll continue to engineer kindness into everything we build.”
Since launching in November, Bumble claims the “Compliments” feature has increased the likelihood of successful matches. In a survey of 1,000 Canadian Bumble users, 58% said receiving a compliment from a potential romantic partner made them more interested in that person, while 62% said receiving a compliment can “turn their whole day around.”
The activation is live beginning today and will run until July 26.