New Bumble Ad Spotlights Experiences of Black Women

An ad campaign from Bumble, called ‘My Love is Black Love’, raises awareness about the dating experiences of Black British women. As part of Black History Month, the dating app exposed some of the negative and false stereotypes that Black women face.

The Drum reports that the ad campaign came as a result of research that found more than half of Black people in the UK don’t see themselves represented in romance narratives in mainstream online spaces.

Bumble’s campaign video explains that “This Black History Month, we’re celebrating the diversity and individuality of Black women in the UK. We gathered real stories from real women about the assumptions they’ve faced whilst dating & shut them down”

In light of this, Bumble decided to create this campaign alongside well-known Black British women, including Lover Islander Amber Gill, social media sensation Nella Rose, and more. 

“While we’ve seen some positive shifts in representation, Black women continue to face stereotypes and preconceptions when dating, everything from what kinds of dates they ’expect,’ to the food they want to eat, to the volumes of their voices”, Naomi Walkland, vice-president of marketing at Bumble, told The Drum.

“Bumble has used, and will continue to use, our platform to better represent the breadth of Black love from broadening representation to challenging fetishization and preconceptions – and, importantly, creating space to celebrate the joy of love stories from the community”, she added.

“Representation matters, always. Being seen, heard and valued is the cornerstone of any friendship or romance that lasts and is key to living a healthy, happy life. The more we listen to diverse voices, the more we understand how important it is to have these important conversations and show up authentically”, Walkland concluded.

Find The Drum’s full coverage of the ‘My Love is Black Love’ campaign ad here.