Match.com’s latest ad comes under fire for labelling freckles ‘imperfections’

The dating website has landed itself in hot water again
Match.com's latest ad
Twitter/FleurBone
Liz Connor12 April 2016

Just a few short months after Match.com’s #loveyourimperfections campaign spectacularly backfired - thanks to scatty singleton Mark - the dating website has managed to irritate London commuters all over again with its latest round of tube ads.

Two new adverts have appeared in London Underground stations across the capital, featuring a woman with red hair and freckles and a person with one blue eye and one brown eye. Both posters come with the strapline: ‘If you don’t like your imperfections, someone else will’.

Londoners were quick to take to Twitter to express their fury over the advert, with one user criticising the company for ‘profiting by bullying’.

Freckles - in pictures

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Tweeter Emily Forbes said: ‘Dear @match, Congratulations. What an impressive & educated tag line you've created. Thank you for outlining.'

Another disgruntled commuter said: ‘Thanks match.com . Lovely to learn I'm covered in "imperfections" #LoveYourImperfections.’

Charlie Clemmow even took a photo of her own freckles, Tweeting at the company to tell them that her freckles are not imperfections.

The billboard, which is part of a Match.com campaign which has been running since 2014, is currently under assesment by the Advertising Standards Authority, reports The Guardian.

A Match.com spokesperson told the Evening Standard: "We have taken note of the response about our advert concerning freckles. Following this feedback, we are in discussions with our relevant partners about removing these posters as soon as possible."

We believe freckles are beautiful. The intention of our ‘Love Your Imperfections’ campaign is to focus on the quirks and idiosyncrasies that people wrongly perceive to be imperfections – this can include freckles, a feature that is sometimes seen as an imperfection by people who have them. We’re sorry if this ad has been interpreted in a different way and we apologise for any offence caused, this was not our intention."

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