Bumble Thinks You Aren't Having Enough Sex 💋
Inside the dating apps divisive rebrand, Gucci's resort collection, Bushwick's popping nightlife, and more.
GM everyone! Thanks for the birthday wishes yesterday, it was sweet.
If you missed yesterday’s newsletter, I interviewed Juliana Goldman, founder of Potion. Go read that. I have another interview lined up with one of your favorite fashion creators and brand founders later this week so stay tuned.
In today’s newsletter I am breaking down:
Bumble’s new rebrand and the public outcry
Gucci’s Resort collection
Bushwick’s popping nightlife scene
and Skims WNBA partnership
Let’s go—
News
Bumble thinks you aren’t having enough sex. Bumble is the latest dating service to get a full rebrand amidst lagging user growth and a slumping stock (down to $11 from its IPO price of $75) While the app once positioned itself as a place where women made the first move, a novel concept that rocketed the brand’s founder to become the youngest self made billionaire in history, its shifting away from that strategy, dumping the feature and going scorched earth with a new rebrand.
They launched a new ad campaign with provocative copy, essentially telling users they aren’t getting f*cked enough. The irony being that Bumble is now getting f*cked with backlash. The celibacy line is not resonating and in response, the brand has apologized and pulled the copy, while dropping a Bumble themed apology post.
Its a pretty bad sign when you’re revitalized Instagram already has an apology post on the grid. I see what Bumble is trying to do here. They’re using meme formats and funny copy to try and regain relevance amongst younger demographics, while poking fun of our modern day dating tropes.
But its difficult to forge a distinct brand people resonate with when you’re walking back your core thesis, because Bumble, statistically speaking is probably right? Analysts say Gen Z is in a sex recession with the culprit most likely being our collective phone addiction and the pandemic. But did they fail to realize how their core user base (women) would react to this rebrand?
I am not sure what’s going to happen to Bumble… but I don’t think its going to be good. I mentioned their founder earlier, Whitney Wolfe Herd, recently told an audience she thinks AI concierges could be used as first date surrogates. What is the world coming to? Forgive me for being on my Carrie Bradshaw swag (rewatching SATC rn), but maybe its time to delete all the apps together and just go out to a bar or party to find love.
⬇️ What do you all think of Bumble’s rebrand? ⬇️
Gucci presented their Resort collection in London. The brand unveiled Sabato De Sarno’s most recent collection at the Tate Modern gallery, a rare move considering many fashion houses (besides Burberry) seldom present in the U.K. anymore. I actually quite like the collection and feel it creatively expands De Sarno’s refined take on Gucci, while reintroducing some elements that feel distinctly Gucci.
But will it be enough to reverse a sales slump that has sent their parent brand, Kering, into a stock market tailspin? Sales are down 18% in the first quarter, while other brands in LVMH’s portfolio have been resilient to economic headwinds. This Bloomberg video on the situation is really good.
Bushwick is NYC’s hottest nightlife destination. The Brooklyn neighborhood is in the midst of a nightlife renaissance that may be fueling economic growth on the whole. Bloomberg analyzed rent prices skyrocketing, increased ridership on the subway at night, and more.
Going out in Bushwick is always a fun time, my favorite spot is Carousel. Its significantly more chill (for the time being) than going out in Manhattan. Its incredible how much the neighborhood has changed from the 90s. Take a look at this photo—
Skims is leaning into the WNBA. Kim Kardashian’s incredibly successful undergarment brand is leveraging the WNBA’s resurgent popularity with a new campaign featuring star players. The league is grappling with how to handle this influx of viewership and attendance by boosting security and weighing other considerations, as Caitlin Clarke prepares to make her debut. Skims began leaning into athletic apparel with their original NBA partnership last Fall.
Okay that’s all for today. See you next week! Email me if you want to chat.
Jake Bell is a content marketing and creative strategist based in NYC. He specializes in content creation, branding, art direction, creative strategy, and making things cool.
To learn more about Jake visit www.jb.studio
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Commenting someone who has never done any digging into data on bumble - their rebranded marketing doesn’t seem to fit the perceived target customer they’ve built for years. I considered them to be a female-empowered dating platform, as opposed to the vibe I get from tinder - which is not that. It’s surprising they didn’t consider these possible responses and angles they’d get. IMO dating apps need to integrate more IRL experiences and events in our digitized loneliness era. Fun speed dating events, cool meet-ups, etc. which can integrate AI! But in an effective way to help people find their match and personalize experiences vs using AI for the sake of using AI. Rebranding isn’t gonna cut it these days - it’s time to re-invent the wheel and shake things up, and AI/tech has never been in a better place to support this type of innovation.