Postdates Is a Handy Way to Get Stuff Back From Your Ex, With a Dash of Social Commentary

That sonic toothbrush you saved up for. Your favorite Red Wings hoodie. Your second-favorite weighted blanket. We all leave good things behind amid the emotional rubble of a breakup, and getting them back can require the one thing our modern culture does absolutely everything in our power to avoid: awkward conversations. Luckily we now have Postdates, a quasi-satirical service that's also very real. Launched by some of the creatives behind last year's Amazon Dating parody site, Postdates clearly takes no small amount of inspiration from delivery services like Postmates—which is completely unaffiliated. And while the site will literally connect you with people to go get your stuff or deliver an ex's belongings for you—at least in New York and Los Angeles—it's also intended to get us all thinking about how much we've come to rely on apps to handle so many of our interactions with other humans. Adweek caught up with the three creators of the site to learn how it came together and how side projects like this can expand your creative skill set: Adweek: How did the idea first come about? Atlas Acopian: I tweeted the concept two years ago, and it had been on my mind ever since. When I started to work with Suzy as a creative partner, it was one of the first things I told her about, and we just kept cracking up at the absurdity of the idea. Suzy Shinn: We were trying to find funding for it after Amazon Dating came out because we knew it would cost something since it was going to be fully operational, but we couldn’t get anyone to invest in it. Then we were like, "Why don’t we just do it ourselves, like we’ve done before? We’re capable." This January, we fortunately met our third partner, Brian Wagner, and all decided to invest our own money and time into it over the last six months. Did you originally think it would just be a satire like Amazon Dating, or did you always want it to actually work? Acopian: We always wanted it to work. We looked at our past projects, which were concepts that didn’t actually function, and wanted to challenge ourselves on the next—by taking whatever idea we had and making it jump off of the screen and actually be something you could interact with in the real world. We wanted to hold a mirror up to society to produce this collective surreal “what is going on?” moment that would make people reflect on how much companies can impact our personal lives and senses of self. And I think the cleaner—or more realistic—you can make that mirror, the better. We wanted to hold a mirror up to society to produce this collective surreal 'what is going on?' moment that would make people reflect on how much companies can impact our personal lives and senses of self.—Atlas Acopian, co-creator, Postdates How did you go about finding partners to handle the pickup and delivery process? Brian Wagner: We honestly just Googled and started looking for locally run courier services in Los Angeles and New York—as opposed to using Uber or DoorDash's API. Then, we met with a handful of courier companies, pitched them the idea, learned more about how their services worked, their values, etc. and decided on Airpals in N.Y. and Gourmet Runner in L.A. because we really admired what they had built and that they shared our excitement about the idea. What's the response been like so far? Any takers on actually getting or sending post-breakup stuff? Wagner: It’s been absolutely all over the place. It was designed to be like that. A lot of people saw the humor in the project and just had a good time browsing the site or sending requests to their friends. It's a very relatable experience—nearly everyone has left something at an ex's or felt the pain of trying to coordinate a hand-off with someone you don't really want to speak to anymore. But some people saw the concept and assumed the worst, or that we were trying to make an already bad situation worse. It's the internet, so rather than take a joke or think critically about the questions we were raising—Do we need an app for breakups? How far would you go to avoid talking to an ex?—you always get reactions from people just looking for something to tear down and be upset about. But again, we were expecting all of that. We wanted to make people react and engage with these ideas. Some people saw the concept and assumed the worst, or that we were trying to make an already bad situation worse.—Brian Wagner, co-creator, Postdates And yes, takers, 100%. Someone actually just sent Suzy a request for their iPhone charger back. Who else worked with you three on the project? Acopian: Bailey James created our logo and branding; Displaay gave us a discount on a their Matter font that resembles Postdates’ font; Carlos Estrada, Patrick Toner, and Joel Williams made various 3D animations for us; and goos1e designed our merch. Our friend Dan Brier helped us write our brand video that Jeremiah Warren DP'ed and Atiya Walcott—actress, YouTuber, college friend—and Collin Fioriglio—my roommate with no prior acting experience—starred in. Cody Guilfoyle gave me FaceTime tips on how to best match the Postmates’ photography style. It’s just been so fun to collaborate with so many extremely talented people. It wouldn’t have been possible without everyone’s help. What do you think is the real value of tackling projects like this? What have you learned from bringing previous ideas to life? Acopian: I think it’s a creative outlet for us. It’s not what everyone else is doing or what we’re told we should be doing. Shinn: I think we’re also learning about more about our youth—specifically in the sense of culture and technology and entertainment and where it’s heading. Wagner: It's definitely a creative outlet. But we also see it as how we can start a conversation and bring to light ideas we think are interesting or funny. Things like technology and relationships play a huge role in our lives, and there's so much weird shit happening all the time that we all go along with, especially where our online and offline lives collide. Sure, technology has made a lot of our lives significantly better, but we also want to point out some of the ways that it's become more awkward or just plain funny. You see this happening with shows like Black Mirror or Nathan Fielder's Dumb Starbucks pop-up, and we're trying to let people experience some of our thinking with us in our own way, whether that means using an app or website or having a courier drop off your favorite hoodie. Amazon Dating, a Spot-On Parody Site, Offers to Help You Find Love in Your Prime

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Postdates Is a Handy Way to Get Stuff Back From Your Ex, With a Dash of Social Commentary

The service's creators explain how a tweet became a fully functional idea—and which conversations they hope it sparks

David Griner

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David Griner