Tinder Tells Users to “Dump Traditional Dating” In New Campaign

Tinder has launched a new advertising campaign that tells users to“Dump Traditional Dating,” created with agency Jellyfish (part of The Brandtech Group). The work targets Gen Z users and promotes the app’s Double Date feature, which allows two friends to match and chat with another pair.

The campaign is built around the idea that traditional first-date etiquette has remained largely unchanged while younger users prefer more social, lower-pressure interactions. The hero film opens in a period-drama setting that depicts formal manners and conventional courtship rituals. The characters are then abruptly moved into a modern arcade environment, where they play games alongside friends. The contrast is intended to highlight the difference between formal one-to-one dates and the more relaxed group format enabled by Double Date.

Paolo Lorenzoni, VP of marketing EMEA at Tinder, said the campaign challenges the notion that there is only one correct way to date. “For generations, first dates have followed the same script, but Gen Z is looking for something more social, relaxed and fun. Double Date reflects that change, giving people a lower-pressure way to connect by bringing friends into the experience.”

Jellyfish creative directors Adrian Thomas and Andrew Stone described the approach as using comedy to underline how outdated some traditional dating conventions can appear alongside contemporary social habits. The campaign appears across video-on-demand, radio and custom social content. Each execution places a familiar first-date discomfort—awkward silences, forced romance or intense one-to-one intimacy – against the shared, lower-stakes activity of a double date.

The launch roughly coincides with “Double Date Island”, a Tinder-hosted dating series running this season on TikTok. While the advertising focuses on the shortcomings of older dating norms, the series illustrates the practical experience of including friends in the process.