Cheating Site Ashley Madison Is Back With an Ad Campaign We Don’t Understand

By Kim Lachance Shandrow Jul 14, 2016
Ashley Madison

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Ashley Madison wants its users back.

Sure, there was an embarrassing data breach last year. Sure, it wreaked embarrassment and devastation across its own user base. And sure there was the little matter of men paying subscription fees to talk with what turned out to be chat bots due to a startlingly low number of women users on the site. But that’s all water under the bridge. They’ve changed — transformed, even. And like any cheater worth his or her salt, the site is looking for a second chance.

So it’s out with the old slogan — “life is short, have an affair” — and in with a new, risqué ad campaign.

Related: Hackers Release the Personal Information of Adultery Seekers Who Joined Ashley Madison

In one, a work-weary woman with a ho-hum other half ships off to a conference — only to bump into an interesting stranger.

In another, a clock watcher with a terrible apartment and a worse shirt finds a rare ray of sunlight — a woman who smiles at him in the subway.

And, in a third, a couple who seem polite, not passionate, meet an intriguing woman at a party.

At the end of each of these inaugural ads for TV,Ashley Madison compels viewers to “Find Your Moment.” As before, cheating is a form of exploration. A sort of adventure. Don’t you want to seize the day?

Ashley Madison certainly hopes so. The 47 million-member extramarital affair online hub took a deep, dark hit to its already controversial brand during last year’s hack and it’s still reeling from the damage. Key to its rebound isn’t just demand for affairs — but building back trust with users.

Related: Court Rules FTC Can Come After Your Company After a Cyber Attack

Curiously, Ashley Madison’s own ads remind users that cheaters don’t often need much help cheating. Every character in the company’s own ads finds new romantic friends in the usual spots — at hotels, parties and out and about. These folks don’t need the help of a digital platform that exposed millions of users, from pastors to government employees to low-level celebs. They did it on their own. DIY-style.

Ashley Madison wants its users back.

Sure, there was an embarrassing data breach last year. Sure, it wreaked embarrassment and devastation across its own user base. And sure there was the little matter of men paying subscription fees to talk with what turned out to be chat bots due to a startlingly low number of women users on the site. But that’s all water under the bridge. They’ve changed — transformed, even. And like any cheater worth his or her salt, the site is looking for a second chance.

So it’s out with the old slogan — “life is short, have an affair” — and in with a new, risqué ad campaign.

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Kim Lachance Shandrow

Former West Coast Editor
Kim Lachance Shandrow is the former West Coast editor at Entrepreneur.com. Previously, she was a commerce columnist at Los Angeles CityBeat, a news producer at MSNBC and KNBC in Los Angeles and a frequent contributor to the Los Angeles Times. She has also written for Government Technology magazine, LA Yoga magazine, the Lowell Sun newspaper,...

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