Tinder India’s print ad is a primer on consent and what all doesn't equate to a ‘Yes’

The front page of today’s (28 Sep ‘21) Bombay Times is a lesson on how many times we misinterpret our partner’s words to consider it a ‘Yes’.

Leading dating app Tinder India’s print ad is a primer on consent and that only a ‘Yes’ means a ‘Yes’. Nothing more, nothing less. This ad is the latest instalment from the dating app’s ongoing campaign around consent.

It is telling to see a millennial and Gen Z brand like Tinder release a print ad — print still carries a certain amount of trust and maturity which digital is yet to achieve. The app’s ad is indicative of how serious it is about educating its existing and potential users about consent.

A couple of weeks ago, Tinder India had released a short film about Ria and Ved. They were once in love but are no longer together. The film, a timelapse of their memories, stands still on that night when everything went wrong. “You didn’t say no,” is all Ved can offer. “But I also didn't say yes... I wish for once, you had asked,” Ria responds.

Tinder’s Future of Dating Report, released earlier this year, tells us members used their bios to make their expectations clear: the word ‘boundaries’ is being used more than ever (up 28 per cent* year on year), and the term ‘consent’ rose 21 per cent.

Match Group (Tinder’s parent company) had previously announced a $100M investment in talent, product, technology, and moderation efforts related to trust and safety in 2021.

Cover image credit: Taru Kapoor/Twitter