Bacon-themed dating app represents latest mobile trend

Niche dating apps collide with advertising

Oscar Mayer has released an app called Sizzl, which is basically Tinder for bacon lovers.

“In love, as it is in bacon, it’s important to be discerning when selecting your perfect match and to never settle for less than the best,” Eric Dahmer, marketing director at Oscar Mayer, said, according to AdWeek.

This app represents a continued trend of companies harnessing the popularity of dating apps to market their products or promote their latest campaigns for special offers or events.

Joel Simkhai, CEO of Grindr, the most popular gay dating app, described his company’s recent ad revenue trends to AdWeek: “In terms of the types of companies that advertise with us, it used to be smaller, $200 to $500 campaigns. Now we’re seeing most of our revenue coming from campaigns that are over $5,000.”

So how does Sizzl work?

“Sizzl works like Tinder, with a meaty twist.” wrote Huffington Post‘s Suzy Strutner. “Create your profile via Facebook, pick a few photos, and answer some bacon, er basic questions about yourself: Do you prefer turkey or pork? Chewy or burnt? If there were only one slice left on a date, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?!”

When you view another person’s profile on your phone, you press a button to activate the Sizzl-meter, according to Oscar Meyer’s website. The longer you hold it down, the more interested you are, although the ratings you give are not viewable to anyone else.

“Sizzl is clearly a great way to meet fellow foodies… and maybe even your bacon soulmate,” wrote Strutner.

The app will be available to download for six months, according to multiple sources.

Even Tinder has embraced the wave of increased interest from advertisers, according to this excerpt from a May 2015 AdWeek article:

Advertising is still new territory for 3-year-old Tinder, with Bud Light running the app’s first ads last month. The potential, however, appears tremendous, with analysts projecting Tinder’s user base to grow to 30 million this year, up from the current 20 million. Tinder aims to build on the success other dating sites, including Match and Grindr, have had with advertising.

However, time will tell what users think of their favorite dating apps featuring more and more ads. Many apps and blogs have suffered mass defections of users after their fans felt that the increased commercialization diluted the products they initially fell in love with.

There’s a saying in the business world: Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. So we’ll see if dating apps can strike a balance that increases their ad revenues without alienating users.