'DTF' Meaning Redefined in OKCupid's Striking Ads

OkCupid is DTF, but not like that. The dating site rethinks that blunt old acronym, originally meaning "down to fuck," by making it the centerpiece of a new campaign from Wieden + Kennedy New York—with the F word replaced by dozens of enlightened alternatives, leading to phrases like "down to feel fabulous," "down to forget our baggage" and "down to fight about the president." The point being: Dating can and should be about more than hookups. The tagline is, "Dating deserves better." The headlines are matched with fun, brightly colored photographs. Several of the ads also have a political message, adding to the already provocative use of "DTF" as a theme. It's a highly artistic campaign, too—W+K worked with artist Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari, the creators of Toilet Paper magazine, on the ads. [kickout id="2"] [kickout id="3"] [kickout id="4"] The campaign marks the latest attack on dating culture, which has come to seem dehumanized in the binary, swipe-left-or-right age of Tinder. (Other dating apps, including Hinge, have also based recent ads around fostering deeper connections between users.) OkCupid CMO Melissa Hobley tells AdFreak that the new campaign signals the brand's commitment to being focused on substance and depth, while also reflecting the issues and passions that people care about. "In the current political and social climate, we felt a responsibility and saw an opportunity to play a part in changing the conversation about dating culture and empowering each individual to reclaim the meaning of DTF and make it theirs," she says. [kickout id="5"] [kickout id="6"] [kickout id="8"] OkCupid aims to achieve substance and depth through the app's features. It asks users more than a dozen questions while setting up a profile and recently launched OkCupid Discovery, which lets users search by passions and interests. It aims to achieve relevance through the brand voice, having found traction by leaning into politics over the past year—including adding a "Trump Filter" to its list of questions. "The response to this blew us away, and most importantly, signaled how important it was for people to be able to talk politics in dating," Hobley says. "We do this better than anyone, and regularly add political questions into the OkCupid experience." The focus on politics is readily apparent in several of the new ads: [kickout id="1"] [kickout id="7"] The ads are aimed at anyone who wants to bring their full selves to dating. But Hobley says they may resonate especially with women, who are "aware that the phrase DTF was used historically in a negative way. There's power in taking that back and making it yours." In terms of craft, the W+K creatives said the campaign is meant to feel playful and positive, as a counterpoint to where so much of the dating scene is headed. "We set out to really explore what happened to chivalry and courtship and how modern-day dating seemed to be on a bad trajectory," says copywriter Ian Hart. "When we say dating deserves better, what we're really saying is people who date deserve better. Because I mean, they really do. Modern dating treats emotions like a disposable commodity. Anyone who's been single knows this. It's an aspiration to treating people like people." [kickout id="9"] [kickout id="10"] [kickout id="11"] Cattelan and Ferrari were the perfect collaborators in bringing this positive message to life. "Originally when we began crafting the idea, we were thinking it'd be cool to explore bold simple typography," says W+K art director Jessica Shriftman. "But the head of art production introduced us to Toilet Paper magazine, and immediately we thought that a ballsy style of photography would compliment the work even more and show couples engaged in fun activities." Hart says the campaign "is a celebration of who we are as individuals in the dating sphere—DTF celebrates what makes each of us unique. We needed the visuals to reflect this. Basically it's sort of this 'Imagine if dating were…' thought that's very playful and joyful. I think Maurizio and Pierpaolo's work creates visuals that are, by very their nature, optimistic and pleasant, which allows the content matter to venture into a more surrealistic world without losing its positive message." [kickout id="16"] [kickout id="18"] The creatives Skyped with Cattelan and Ferrari a lot in the early stages, "which was different for us," says Shriftman. "They were very collaborative—I know the c-word is overused, but it's true—and showed tons of mood reference for each concept while being super open to our ideas and feedback." The creatives came up with scores of ideas for individual executions, but discarded most of them. "There are no Don Draper insta-done scenarios happening over here," says Hart. "We simply came up with a ton of scenarios, pressure tested them, found out 90 percent are trash, rinsed, washed and repeated until we had our campaign." [kickout id="12"] [kickout id="13"] For most of the executions, the W+K came up with the line of copy first—and then developed the visual in collaboration with Cattelan and Ferrari. But in a few cases, it was the opposite. "Maurizio and Pierpaolo work super fast and have so many ideas," says Shriftman. "They originally presented a visual of a paper bag with eyes on it to us during one of our Skype calls. And while it wasn't right for one of our approved concepts, we loved it and knew we could write to it, so 'Forget our baggage' actually came out of that." The trick for most of the ads was to find a balance between being too literal on the one hand, and too esoteric on the other. "We were thankful to Maurizio and Pierpaolo for always providing us with options," Shriftman says. "I think the photographers' strength is that they'll never play it too safe and there always needs to be a visual twist to make it interesting." [kickout id="14"] [kickout id="15"] Hobley says she is most excited about the campaign because "every image feels like a work of art" and many of them make a significant statement. "For example, the DTFall Head Over Heels is beautiful," she says. "It doesn't actually matter if our users are straight or fall under one of the 13 sexual orientation options. Our ecosystem cares that we have a great experience for so many communities, and that's partly what this image symbolizes." Hobley adds: "I also love the political executions because it speaks to how OkCupid is one of the only places where folks can connect on politics and the issues that matter to them. And next to each other, these images are incredible and very powerful." [kickout id="17"] CREDITS Client: OkCupid Melissa Hobley - Chief Marketing Officer Bernadette Libonate - Senior Marketing Manager Devin Colleran - Brand Manager Dana Davis - Communications / Graphic Designer Agency: Wieden + Kennedy New York Executive Creative Directors - Karl Lieberman Copywriter - Ian Hart Art Director - Jessica Shriftman Art Director (social / banners) - Nathan Wigglesworth Head of Art Buying - Deb Rosen Senior Art Buyer - Ali Berk Strategist - Brian Ritter Social Director - Jessica Breslin Account Team - Jacqueline Steele, Sydney Gayner Head of Business Affairs - Patrick ODonoghue Business Affairs - Carla Curry Traffic Coordinator - Andy Hume Project Manager - Ava Rant Head of Creative Services - Chris Whalley Studio - Laura Paulino, Leigh Ann Dykes, David Niblick, Nathan Delessandro, Jill Kearton, Napoleon Nicdao Design - Justin Flood, Robert Engvall, Frank DeRose, James Hughes, Meredith Marino Joint / Motion Graphics Producer - Brian Schimpf Motion Graphics - Damian Riddell Photographers and Production Team Photographers - Maurizio Cattelan & Pierpaolo Ferrari Production Company - Pro Service Production Executive Producer - Federico Delle Piane Production Coordinator - Giulia Venturini Production Assistant - Stefania Biliato Digital Capture - Silvano Banfi RetoucherBenedetta Ferrari Art Director - Micol Talso Set Designer - Michela Natella Wardrobe Stylist - Elisa Zaccanti Hair Stylist - Gabriele Trezzi Makeup Stylist - Lorenzo Zavatta Videographer - Caterina Vigano`

AdFreak

OkCupid Redefines 'DTF' in Striking Ads That Are Like Little Works of Art

W+K enlists Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari for campaign

Tim Nudd

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