Nothing is done accidentally, and eHarmony’s approach to target audiences is certainly obvious. Through this campaign, they set multiple short term goals. eHarmony wants you to realize you cannot find your perfect match alone, you need their help to find them. Secondly, eHarmony wants you to realize not to settle for anything less than perfect, they can find your perfect match which they believe is out there for you. Looking at the “Better Dates” Campaign, someone considered a mama’s boy or an aggressive female is considered “undateable.” Through this campaign, they want you to look at your date and find something you don’t like about them. With that, you will continue to use their service. They want you to think you deserve better, and you can find someone better- but only through eHarmony.

Similarly, to their short term goals, eHarmony’s long term goals include having dedicated members who are determined to find their “true match.” The presence of Dr. Neil Clark Warren implies that the company is there for you. They want you to know that you are valued and they intend to form a bond with you. eHarmony wants you to live happily ever after.

According to the eHarmony Support Homepage, their mission statement asserts, “to empower people with the knowledge and inspiration needed to grow and strengthen their most important relationships for a lifetime of happiness.”

Here is where the confusion starts. eHarmony wants you to find love, but once you do, you will no longer use their service. So do they really want you to find love right away? Along with their previous goals, you create unrealistic expectations of what your perfect match will be like. This gives you the mindset that you cannot stop looking for that person. They imply that compromising is similar to settling, and you cannot settle when finding your match.

The thought of you “deserving the best” is amplified through their extensive questionnaire on their website. Every eHarmony user must complete the rigorous survey about themselves in order to find their most compatible person. These questions include how important your partner’s sex appeal is to you, should the weight of partner matter, how tall your partner is, how important your partner’s income is, or what three of your partner's best life skills are. These questions are all very definitive. While they might matter, they are all surface questions and are not things that should be the foundation of a relationship. Having different political views should not define a relationship.

A good advertiser knows their customer and the exact way to market to them. According to Right Brain Advertising, eHarmony currently has a target market of heterosexual women and men ages 35 to 55, who are currently single or divorced and looking to meet, and eventually marry their soulmate. Current eHarmony users are white middle and upper class single women and men who have an education beyond high school. eHarmony’s current users also have a general goal to end up married, and believe, as a result of their ad campaigns, that eHarmony’s services will be the answer. The consumers of the target market mostly belong to Generation X, those who were born between the early 1960’s and early 1980’s. eHarmony’s services are welcomed to all ethnicities and races. Many of eHarmony’s customers are financially established and may or may not have been married or have children from previous relationships. eHarmony’s target audience have faith in love and relationships. They believe in finding their one true love and have a positive attitude throughout the search. Although they want the most efficient way of finding love, they are patient and easy going when searching through matches. Targeted consumers are heterosexual and balance their careers with hobbies and leisure activities.

These demographics and psychographics allow eHarmony’s marketing team to advertise to their prime consumers in a way in which they will use their service. According to Right Brain Advertising and a study done by Mediamark Research & Intelligence, members of Generation X said that “their consumption of print media was based on a functional search for information rather than reading something from ‘cover to cover.’” Therefore, eHarmony’s target market would rather use the Internet and stay connected than read printed content. Right Brain Advertising explains that targeted consumers are drawn to “relevant, genuine, and transparent” content. These consumers are not driven by hype or hysteria; they appreciate a more straightforward approach, and will not believe everything an advertiser tells them. Generation X is aware of advertising tactics that are used to manipulate purchasing behavior and as a result, will research products or services if they feel they are given false information.

The Bad Dates campaign attempts a funny approach to appeal to the humor of their consumer and the viewers. Generation X prefers cold hard facts. While some may appreciate humor, eHarmony itself bring statistics to the table and explains how they are the number 1 matchmaking service. Their explanation of their highly successful marriage rates and patented matchmaking process appeals more to their customers.

While eHarmony is a successful matchmaking site with impressive statistics, their service may lack some modern day approaches. Online dating is making change from the internet to mobile devices. Many apps like Tinder and Swipe are simple to use and are at a consumer’s fingertips. The easy accessibility of dating apps is more appealing in today’s society. Another way in which eHarmony can better advertise to their specific target audience is to broaden their demographics. EHarmony only applies to heterosexuals and refuses their services to those seeking a same sex partner. The quantity of eHarmony’s consumers would increase drastically if their demographic expanded. Instead, a prospective consumer is redirected to CompatiblePartners.com.

With viewers consuming excessive hours of advertisements every day, eHarmony had to find a way to stand out from the rest and make a more memorable campaign. The new campaign “Bad Dates” more specifically within the campaign two commercials arise; Matt’s bad dates and Lisa’s bad dates. Both of these commercials are packed with both verbal and nonverbal messages.

In the beginning of Matt’s commercial, we are first introduced to Matt. By the look at Matt’s face you can tell he is befuddled and looking for help. Matt has a slender to medium build, light brunette colored hair that is only slightly receding, dimples on both cheeks, and piercing blue eyes. Matt looks like a very common looking man; there is nothing exciting about him. EHarmony chose Matt because he represents what the average looking man looks like. This makes the commercial more relatable, allowing the average man to picture himself in his shoes. Matt is wearing a white and blue button up, not only does the button up signify a level of sophistication, but the colors also give off their own meanings. The white in his shirt represents purity, while the blue represents trust. These are traits that most people would find attractive in a future partner. Also the colors of Matt’s shirt is perfectly matching with the logo, which is going across him in this commercial, which makes for the perfect picture to capture your eye.

The second scene Matt is on a date with an emotional girl in what appears to be a nice restaurant. Looking at her appearance you can tell she is more conservative but also does not care about how others may perceive her based on her looks. She is wearing a mustard colored sweater that covers the majority of her shoulders and chest. The mustard color is not an attractive color and is not pleasing to the eye. Next, her mascara is running down her face showing that she is crying which ties into the messy appearance of her hair. Her hair is in a ponytail, which is usually a hairstyle used when you are in a rush, working out, or when you often do not care about your appearance. Her ponytail is also in shambles and falling out, which is not something you would expect to find someone wearing on a date in this restaurant's atmosphere. This restaurant is very open and bright, something that is not associated intimately. Also the color of her sweater is clashing with the yellow chairs behind her, which makes her look even more unappealing.

Next we see Matt with another date, who looks very earthy and also has a snake around her neck. Her choice of clothing consists of a white linen shirt with puffy sleeves, and a tan vest with fringe, which gives off a very organic vibe. Based on her appearance, she is not perceived as undateable, but rather it is the snake she has around her neck that is the so-called deal breaker. The snake signifies something exotic about her; it shows that she is not your typical “stay at home” cookie cutter wife. It is implied that her interest for reptiles be viewed as an undateable trait. eHarmony is a very religious website and is not afraid to express this. In the bible a snake is what persuaded Eve to eat the apple, which makes the snake look evil. In this scene the snake around her neck may make certain viewers see her as an evil entity.

Next Matt is on a date with a mime. This girl is almost thrown into the commercial to keep your attention, being she is used to mix up what we are seeing. She is wearing the full mime outfit, from the hat to the face paint. This shows that she dedicated to her hobbies and has great passion in the activities in which she is involved in. This girl is shown to represent someone who is too focused on their career-hobby and does not have enough time for a relationship.

The final date Matt is on is what can be perceived today as the modern woman. She can be described as a very seemingly normal female, tan, brown hair, average woman. Out of all the settings this one takes place in an intimate, dimly lit restaurant. The one thing that is the most interesting about this scene is Matt and his date's body language. Typically a female sits very contracted and tries to use as little space as possible. While males are taught the exact opposite, males learn to take up as much space as possible and sprawl out. Sprawling out can be seen as a form of power, being that one can take up the most space so they control the situation. This idea is associated with typical gender roles and insinuates that males have more power than females. In this scene the female is sprawled out while Matt is one that is contracting his body. This makes her look undateable because it makes her look aggressive and powerful, something that eHarmony does not want on their website.

The final scene of this commercial shows Dr. Neil Warren across the desk from Matt. Dr. Warren is wearing a suit which makes him look very powerful. In today’s society a suit is often worn by someone of importance, someone you would want to listen to. The main focus of this scene is that Dr. Warren is sitting on the powerful side of the desk. This means that his face is facing the door and his back is facing the wall, this symbolizes that this is his space. Dr. Warren has control of this scene and has the power, while Matt can be viewed as powerless.

There are also many verbal messages present in this commercial. To start, Matt states his problem right away, “I am just not having any luck dating.” This shows the purpose of this commercial and can be a line that is relatable for many people watching television, who are also having difficulty dating.

Throughout many eHarmony commercials, viewers see the many persuasive strategies used. Their tactics are blatantly obvious, eHarmony’s slogans, signs, and main identifiers are made up of light colors, specifically a light blue as the background. Light blue signifies calmness, openness, and trustworthiness. However, the logo, “eHarmony” itself, is all white which represents the purity of not only the company, but the people who utilize it, and the love you will find while being a member of eHarmony. The eHarmony logo can be recognized almost anywhere, as its colors and their meanings are simple yet memorable. They speak to the company as a whole and what they represent. The music they use in their commercials is the song “This Will Be (Everlasting Love)” by Natalie Cole; an upbeat song about love- an everlasting love, to be specific. With a catchy beat and joyful chorus this song can be recognized in eHarmony commercials even when the words have been removed. Their slogans include “Bad Dates” which implies that dates being had outside of eHarmony matches are not as fulfilling or successful. Another slogan is “Stop Waiting! Start Communicating Today For Free!” which gives people incorrect preconceived notions. One may assume they will receive a free, unlimited membership when in reality they are only receiving a limited amount of communication. The site discusses how it has made over one million marriages happen and that they have the number one online dating website. The term “communicate” is loosely defined in this slogan. One may think that unlimited communication will lead them to find their one true love. However, eHarmony misleads an online dater when promoting their free interaction. A prospective dater is unable to see their matches without paying for eHarmony’s service. The whole campaign is based on finding a life partner, when it would be nearly impossible to do so without seeing the person. Without spending money, interaction is very limited. Along with the term “communication,” the term “free” is also loosely defined. Free insinuates that there is nothing at cost to another person. When the word “free” is used in their slogan, eHarmony users believe they do not have to put any effort or time into this process, and they are guaranteed matches. However, this is not a valid notion, for nothing involving eHarmony is free or guaranteed.

Overall, the Bad Dates campaign makes a lot of assumptions about people and who they should love and how they should love. eHarmony provides guidelines on what is perceived to be important in the dating world. Proven through this analysis, eHarmony has strong opinions on what they view to be correct and ethical, while neglecting the general opinions of the public and encouraging both gender normative behavior and societal norms.