A Match.com ad campaign in the UK that features a woman doing domestic tasks to win the affection of her male partner has been banned for being sexist – phew!
The dating site decided to get with the cool kids and ran the campaign via TikTok. However, despite them using a modern platform the campaign seemed straight from the 1950s.
The TikToks opens with a woman showing how she does acts of service to keep her man. Or, in her own words, “Make him realise, I’m a keeper!” Please pass me a bucket.
The ad seems to position the woman more as a maid than a life partner. Gems include the woman making sure he has what he needs for the bathroom, like having his socks ready!
Making her male partner a protein shake and putting the football on for him – I wish I were kidding.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received a complaint that the ad was sexist and upheld the complaint.
Match.com argued that the ad intended to show how small gestures are the key to successful relationships. It also claimed that TikTok was part of a three-part series that would also show men doing acts of service.
However, the ASA concluded: “The title, when viewed in the context of the ad, reinforced the idea that women should be subservient to men in order to maintain a successful relationship.”
