Online dating site Chemistry.com is taking shots at eHarmony.com, with new ads showing its larger competitor as being out of touch with mainstream America. The ads, which roll out this week, will
first appear in weekly newspapers and magazines. And they pointedly note eHarmony's refusal to match people of the same gender and the evangelical Christian beliefs of its founder, Neil Clark
Warren.
Chemistry.com has hit this theme before, with a set of ads earlier this year called "Rejected by eHarmony" that featured lovelorn people turned away from eHarmony for either being
gay, not happy enough or unmatchable. Chemistry.com spent $20 million on that campaign--and its newest effort is going to be even bigger.
The "Rejected by eHarmony" campaign may be working,
as Chemistry.com has experienced an 80 percent growth rate since rolling it out, according to Mandy Ginsburg, general manager. Sign-ups by gays and lesbians have jumped 200 percent since "Rejected"
started, she notes--and 10 percent of Chemistry.com's members are now seeking a same-sex match. The ads are meant to show that "eHarmony is out of sync with what is happening in America," Ginsburg
says, adding that the company plans to expand the campaign to include television and more print ads next month.
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