Hinge’s mascot goes to heaven in dating app’s latest ‘Designed to Be Deleted’ campaign

Patti Harrison stars with ‘Hingie’ in fifth iteration of the campaign from W+K Portland

Published On
Apr 10, 2024
Gates to the afterlife where The Oracle is welcoming deleted Hinge app icons

Editor's Pick

Hinge is known as the app that’s designed to be deleted. But what happens to the app’s furry icon once it is deleted and disappears into the ether?

It goes to none other than the afterlife.

Hingie, the dating app’s mascot, gets deleted by the people it helped match. But to Hingie’s surprise, this is not the end of the road. Upon entering the afterlife, Hingie is greeted by The Oracle, a quirky and reasonable angel-esque character who reviews each matching success that ultimately led to Hingie’s demise.

The Oracle is portrayed by actress and comedian Patti Harrison, known for starring in shows such as “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson” and “Search Party.”

 

“You devoted your life to love. Not for yourself, but for Rio and Jess. You brought this couple together, knowing full well it would lead to your deletion. Enjoy your afterlife,” The Oracle says to Hingie.

At first, Harrison’s Oracle seems very zen and in control. However, when a line of successful—deleted—Hingies forms for review in front of a remote-control door, Harrison resorts to taking matters into her own hands to give them an extra push through to their final abode.

“I’ve used Hinge before, and there aren’t many apps that are as accommodating to transgender daters. It’s great to see any app make an effort, but it felt like Hinge really made a meaningful effort,” Harrison said in a statement. “Also, as a comedian, this was something where I genuinely agreed with what they are doing. It was a chance to help make dating even better for people.”

The hero spot and a slew of shorter ads were created by Wieden+Kennedy Portland with Gen Z and young millennial daters in mind.

“‘Designed to be deleted’ brings to life Hinge’s goal of getting people off the app as Hingie—our furry app icon—lives to die,” said Jackie Jantos, chief marketing officer at Hinge. “It’s fun to celebrate real love stories from Hinge couples, and we hope these films bring some joy and encouragement to people on their dating journey.”

For the first time, the ads showcase stories inspired by the real dates of Hinge couples. These stories range from encounters between two people with the same name to shared conspiracy theories about the existence of New Zealand. Couples are depicted through illustrations, and one live-action couple is featured as they relive the moment when they deleted the app.

The “Designed to Be Deleted” ad campaign was first released in 2019. This current release marks the fifth global iteration.

The campaign includes short and long-form videos, running in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia. They premiered on YouTube and various social media platforms on April 9, followed by launches on streaming platforms throughout April. The campaign is scheduled to run until early summer.

Credits

Date
Apr 10, 2024
Client :
Hinge
Agency :
Wieden & Kennedy-Portland
ECD :
Azsa West
ECD :
Felipe Ribeiro
Creative Director :
Darcie Burrell
Creative Director :
Lawrence Melilli
Art Director :
Maggie Paris
Copywriter :
Ellen Miller Schneider
Director of Production :
Orlee Tatarka
Executive Producer :
Byron Oshiro
Senior Producer :
Antonio Burnett
Producer :
Devin Brown
Design Producer :
Scott Meisse
Designer :
Dave Hagen
Senior Strategist :
Rachita Vasan
Media/Comms Planning :
Emily Graham
Brand Manager :
Leila Chee
Brand Executive :
Kieran Yancy
Business Affairs :
Amber Lavender
Business Affairs :
Nicole Smith
Business Affairs :
Karen Crossley
Traffic :
Maisie Plew
Traffic :
Katie Hall
Production Company :
Biscuit Filmworks
Director :
Bine Bach
Executive Producer :
Tom Farley
Line Producer :
Jade Almond
Director of Photography :
Rina Yang
Production Design/Art Direction :
Andrew Reznick
BTS Photographer :
Juliette Duffy
Editorial Company :
Spot Welders
Editorial Company :
Joint
Editor :
Robert Duffy
Assistant Editor :
Charlie Harrington
Post Producer :
Izzie Raitt
VFX Company :
Kevin VFX
ECD/Partner :
Tim Davies
EP/Partner :
Sue Troyan
Senior VFX Producer :
Jami Schakel
VFX Coordinator :
Connor Van Der Linde
Lead Compositor :
Robert Murdock
Compositor :
Steve Gibbons
Compositor :
Alex Kolasinski
Compositor :
David Jahns
Matte Painter :
Ben Girdwood
Color Company :
Color Collective
Colorist :
Alex Bickel
Sound Design & Mix Company :
Field Day Sound
Audio Mixer & Sound Engineer :
Morgan Johnson
Audio Producer :
Leslie Carthy
Illustration :
Tara Booth

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