Truly Madly asks girls to go 'Boy Browsing'

Dating app Truly Madly has released its first TV campaign, targetted at women, basing it on a social behaviour called 'boy browsing'.

Secretly nudging friends when a cute boy is in the vicinity is a ritual most women have followed since their teenage years. Dating app Truly Madly has picked up on this and created a quirky campaign called 'Boy Browsing'.

The ad shows instances when girls are 'checking boys out' at parties, in buses, malls or even classrooms. They are also seen secretly pointing them out to friends. Ashish Chakravarty, national creative director, Contract India, says, "We know that the dating behaviour of now is really fluid and exploratory. We felt that the brand communication should also be similar in tone. So, the idea of taking a social behaviour that exists (checking out boys for your friend) and owning it emerged. Boy Browsing, as we have phrased it, is a real and relatable phenomenon that we are certain will be loved by the ladies, and catch on."

While the campaign is women-specific, the brand's TG is guys and girls, independent-minded, between 18-34 years of age. Sachin Bhatia, CEO and co-founder, Truly Madly, explains, "Our communication and positioning has always been about breaking stereotypes, be it our Man Parade film or now the Boy Browsing ad film. We simply wanted to ask girls to 'come-in', experience the app and if they like someone, well, then just 'like' them. If the girls start using the app, guys will automatically follow." He further adds that out of one million installs of the app, 30 per cent users are girls, 80 per cent of whom are in the age group of 18-26 years.

When asked if India has warmed up to dating apps, he comments, "Totally! We are now seeing more than 12,000 downloads daily and a very regular usage on our app. India has been ready for a long time, just did not have an opportunity like this where you find someone online in a very safe and secure environment."

It is interesting to note that many a local dating apps are being launched (Woo, Thrill, DesiCrush), while international ones have gained popularity (Tinder, OkCupid, Down). Woo, which positions itself as a matching app, also launched a TV campaign 'Find Magic Find Love' recently.

Truly Madly's campaign was launched mid-August and is to run through September on English entertainment channels and MTV. Other than TV, social media and radio legs of the campaign are also being executed.

Amusingly, the ad is not only made for, but also made by women. Mayur Hola, executive creative director, Contract India, says, "Knowing that we are addressing ladies, we made sure that this film is scripted by girls, including the lyrics which we've written in-house, directed by Shirsha Guha Thakurta, and composed and sung by Kavya and Khyati Trehan. As such, the vibe we have captured is just how girls are for real. More so, as we cast real people straight off the streets. Boy Browsing is absolutely the new bird watching and is a catch phrase whose time has come, we feel."

The company claims that the app installs have more than doubled since the ad film launch, along with the generation of considerable social media conversations around the brand. The ad has also led to a notable increase in user engagement on the app.