This week, we have a weird and dystopian story about people in love with bots, but we balance it out with a beautiful campaign about real life love stories. And we deliver not one, but two slices of pizza creativity with all the toppings.
Do you take this bot?
Ever thought you could be dating a robot? We don’t mean those exciting online profiles that turn out to be a front for boring and predictable. We mean would you consider dating an AI bot? Because it’s happening.
Loverse, a dating app in Japan, is letting users date and even marry AI bots, with a message translating to something like ‘your partner is AI, so you can just be yourself’.
Despite only launching two months ago, the app claims to have tens of thousands of users dating thousands of bots, with some of these mixed relationships going as far as marriage. According to the site testimonials, married life is going swell, thanks.
While we can be critical, there is a case that these dystopian, stepford robot relationships offer a solution to a crippling societal issue… loneliness. So while we’re not advocating bot-marriage – we’ve seen Futurama, we know how it ends – we’re saying maybe don’t judge.
We’ll just close our eyes when the custody battles start.
A Pizza the Action!
Pizza Hut just pulled off the ultimate troll move against Dominos. In a cheeky twist of corporate shenanigans, Pizza Hut became the official sponsor of the World Championship Domino Tournament. That’s right, they literally sponsored the game “dominoes” to poke fun at their rival.
Pizza Hut’s marketing game is on point with their “Together We Pizza” campaign showcasing their playful side. They’ve always had a knack for outsmarting Domino’s, like when they launched the “Deal Jacker” app to turn Domino’s offers into better Pizza Hut deals.
This ongoing pizza feud is entertaining to watch, so grab a slice and enjoy the rivalry unfold.
Another slice of creativity
Image: Glide Pizza
Playing hard-to-get might be a time-honoured dating strategy, but it’s rarely used in marketing. Sure, there’s a lot of ‘exclusivity’ and ‘limited availability’, but there’s not a whole lot of ‘can’t touch this’.
So we loved this human QR code that does things very differently. He offers passers-by free pizza, but only if they ‘scan if you can’. Having got their attention, he does everything he can to stop them snapping the QR code – twirling, dancing, hiding, and just plain running away. It’s ridiculous, and it’s great fun. Because pizza shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
This fantastic promo for Glide Pizza was ‘run’ in late 2022, but it’s so much fun we had to share.
Everyone gets a love story
Image: Tinder
Thanks to dating apps, we no longer have meet-cute, love at first sight moments. We swipe right, send a few awkward texts, and maybe then meet up in real life. Tinder’s new ads put a beautiful and funny twist on this, converting those clumsy messages to miniature rom-coms. The point? Love is love, and while life might not be exactly like the movies, dating apps still do give us sweet and happy beginnings.
“It Starts with A Swipe” cleverly blends nostalgia for traditional romantic narratives with the reality of modern dating, a little mix of humour and nostalgia, reminding us that even in the digital age, the magic of meeting someone special is still alive and well.