If you thought romance was dead, think again. Hinge’s latest campaign, No Ordinary Love, has ditched glossy ads promising perfect matches in favour of a hardcover anthology (remember the analogue revival we talked about a few weeks back?) that will melt the coldest of hearts. Five contemporary authors were hired to retell real Hinge couples’ love stories – switching between both partners’ perspectives and embracing the thrilling, butterfly-inducing, messy awkwardness that goes hand in hand with early dating.
Alongside the limited-edition physical version, No Ordinary Love has been released as part of a weekly Substack series, with book club events and TikTok creator partnerships used to tease upcoming stories, reveal “characters,” and encourage a sense of fandom. Hinge wants you to root for these couples the same way we ship the characters in our favourite films and TV series, and honestly, we really are.
What makes this campaign especially clever and culturally relevant is the way it embraces the rise of steamy regency dramas like Bridgerton, romantasy novels (we all have a friend who is obsessed with ACOTAR), BookTok, and female-founded audio erotica platforms like Quinn & Dipsea. No Ordinary Love also taps into a growing shift in how audiences – particularly women – consume intimate content. For many young women, steamy, story-driven narratives feel safer and more empowering than ‘traditional’ adult content. With greater emphasis on consent, character development, mutual pleasure, and emotional connection, it’s a reclamation of a space that has previously felt objectifying and sometimes even violent.
Hinge has piggybacked on the popularity of this genre with their marketing for No Ordinary Love, positioning themselves not just as a dating app, but as a platform for modern romance and flawed, messy love stories. With their tagline ‘designed to be deleted’, Hinge sets themselves apart from other apps, with their point of difference being a focus on more meaningful connections - rather than just hookups.
Smart social strategy is a staple for audio erotica app Quinn, who now boast over 600,000 followers on TikTok. Quinn are famous for their fanbase-led marketing, celebrity collaborations with the likes of Andrew Scott, Victoria Pedretti & Jamie Campbell Bower, and slow-burn teasing - their content is loaded with clue-drops about new voice actors, behind-the-scenes content, and the intentional use of social media as a space to build excitement and community. This week, they announced their latest celeb collab (Tom Blyth, if you care 👀) after a week and a half long social campaign that expertly edged their loyal listeners. In an interview with Rachel Karten (linked in this weeks ‘must reads’), Quinn’s head of community, Brooke Wilczewski, discusses this approach:
“About two weeks before we announce who the new celebrity voice is, we start showing BTS from the trailer shoot. As we get closer to announcing, we start incorporating clues—a shadow or the back of the celebrity’s head—to keep people guessing and engaged. So many people have 0.1 second attention spans now, and once they see the announcement, they move on and focus on the next exciting thing. Our teasing strategy gets them to stay invested.”
Images: @tryquinn (Instagram)
This female-focused, sex-positive messaging goes far beyond these campaigns. A-list celebrities are attaching themselves to an industry & topic that was once taboo (NormalCo did done some sleuthing and correctly guessed Harry Styles as the next big name to enter the game - his lifestyle brand Pleasing has launched a sexual wellness range just this past week), Urban Decay has partnered with adult creator and self-proclaimed ‘mattress actress’ Ari Kytsya, and Aussie darling Blue-Eyed Kayla Jade has amassed a 2.2 million strong TikTok following, comprised largely of women, by candidly sharing her experiences as a sex worker. It’s worth noting that the common thread, which is probably worthy of its own deep dive (or at least a good yap over wine), is that the men who aren’t afraid to be a part of this space are ones who firmly fall within the female gaze.
Image: Pleasing
For brands working in advocacy, ethical industries, or social impact, there’s plenty to learn here:
Reframe your message through a human lens.
Instead of leading with policy or problems, anchor your campaign in emotions like love, hope, or connection. Start with a relatable human moment, then tie it back to your mission (e.g. “what does a better world feel like?” rather than “what are we fighting against?”)
Use slow-burn storytelling to build anticipation.
Don’t give everything away at once - tease new initiatives, drop clues about upcoming work, and let campaigns unfold in chapters. Think like a storyteller: release part one now, part two next week, and give your audience a reason to come back.
Plan your content like a tease, not just a tell.
Before your next launch, create a pre-campaign content arc that hints at what’s coming -behind-the-scenes peeks, blurred details, or cryptic copy. Build curiosity gradually so your audience is invested before the full reveal.
Tap into what your audience is already obsessed with.
Align your message with existing cultural trends - whether it’s a trending genre or popular aesthetic - to meet your audience where they already are. Ask: what are they already scrolling for, and how can our message slot in naturally?
Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to daydream about British accents and regency-era romance.
TikTok formats, viral memes, new Instagram features, audio sounds, or emerging aesthetics: here’s what’s happening online this week
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