• by Danielle Oster , August 22, 2024

Weekend beach-goers at popular destinations last weekend may have been surprised to see a seaplane with an unusual message: “Report  Every F**kboy You Know."

The attention-grabbing stunt is part of a campaign for a new dating app called Better In Person. The so-called “no-bs dating app” launched with the goal to “end the swiping era” and provide an option for those frustrated with the current dating app landscape. According to a company study, nine out of 10 matches on other apps never meet in person, and women cite the prevalence of “f**kboys” as their number one issue with dating apps.

To help create a better environment, the app claims it doesn’t allow “catfish” (those who falsely represent themselves in profiles), “Fboys” (a term for shallow men who misrepresent their intentions to engage in casual sex), or “penpals” who never move from chatting to actual dates. The app has mandated follow-through dates for users and tracks follow-through rates (requiring at least 33% to remain on the app), requiring video “vibe-checks” in user profiles, and AI-assisted date planning with Yelp integration.

It also provides users with the ability to report bad behavior, including the feature at the center of the launch campaign: reporting “f**boys” (regardless of gender), who are given that label on their profile if they receive three such citations.

To promote the app’s launch this month, Better In Person greeted audiences with the ““Report  Every F**kboy You Know” message through an OOH campaign centered around the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. Seaplanes flew signs bearing the campaign’s message over beaches in the Hamptons, the Jersey Shore, and Los Angeles, and will continue the effort through the next two weekends. The campaign also includes OOH billboards in New York and Los Angeles, as well as a crew of “f**kboys in the wild” holding signs bearing the message.

According to Better In Person, women were already getting the message a week after launch, with the brand citing a “Business of Apps, Dating App Report 2024” that said the app had the highest percentage of women, 52%, compared to other  general audience dating apps:  Bumble, 39%, Hinge, 38%, and Tinder at just 16%.