Spark Networks have released a new set of TV ads for JDate, after their marketing strategy was criticised by activist investor Osmium.
Earlier in the month, Osmium took control of the board of directors, ousting four sitting board members with their own nominees.
The new TV spots are part of a rebrand of JDate, with Spark attempting to attract the attention of millennials with their Get Chosen campaign.
Part of Osmium’s pitch to shareholders for a board change was that the company had failed to successfully brand and market JDate.
They said the company had neglected the Jewish brand in favour of ChristianMingle, which they threw marketing money at.
Osmium criticised the “heavy direct marketing expenditures in Christian Networks to acquire subscribers, investing, to our knowledge, approximately $113.7 million to generate $93.3 million in revenue.”
In Q1 2014, JDate’s subscribers in 2014 fell to their lowest level since 2006.
While Osmium are unsure about Spark’s strategy towards JDate – of which these ads are a part – it will be interesting to see if the new board shifts the marketing strategy, or stays aligned with the current ads and slogans.
JDate produced the ads with Rainn Wilson’s production company, SoulPancake.
Check out the ads below: