Ashley Madison, a communicator’s pleasure or challenge
So, I’m sure everyone has seen those Ashley Madison commercials. If you are unfamiliar, let me introduce you to them. In one commercial, a man and woman are seen in bed together. They are half naked and they are having a joyous romp in the sheets. You see the woman with a sinful smirk towards the camera with racy music playing in the background. All of a sudden, headlines appear, and they say, this couple is married, but not to each other.
Ashley Madison is a dating service that helps married people and others in committed relationships to find romance outside of their existing unions. They’re not a swinging service – they promote relationships between individuals not couples.
In basic terms, they’re a dating agency that openly promotes cheating. When I first saw one of their commercials on television, I was taken aback because; I was in shock of what they were selling. I couldn’t imagine a company could be so daring to openly offer a cheating service.
The reason why, I have a desire to address this is because I find their commercials very bold and almost surreal. I wonder how does the communicator of Ashley Madison validate the need for such a service? When the media calls, what do they say and can they say it with conviction? What kind of key messages would they be promoting and how would they measure their public relation campaigns to see if their messages are indeed successful?
It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall, when the communicator for Ashley Madison talks to the media about their promiscuous dating service. It would even be more interesting to see what their media plans consist of and what their realistic expectations are.
As companies become bolder and more direct with their communications initiatives – the need for communicators will be more than great. After all no one wants their company to be the next negative headline in tomorrow’s newspaper.
But really how would the communicator of Ashley Madison react to this situation, lottery winner found dead, frequent user of Ashley Madison dating service. If their next step is “no comment” their problems have just begun.
~ by Natasha C. on January 19, 2008.
Posted in Public Relations
Tags: Ashley Madison, communicator, key messages, media plan, Public Relations
FeelMyFire 
Interesting topic. I’ve seen the commercials and always wondered how can this company exist and be so bold about it? Let’s see if the tough questions are asked and what the responses will be.
There seems to be an epidemic of these agencies spreading across North America and they make me sick. Frankly, I don’t think they need to be concerned about negative publicity and whether they’re getting their key messages across. Consider their audience: depraved individuals with no morals. What do they care? The agency probably delights in negative publicity.
Maybe negative publicity is good publicity for Ashley Madison. It just amazes me that they’ve existed so long and they are really successful at what they do. I guess it is true what they say – sex sells.
Great topic Natasha! I also took a second glance when I first saw their commercials.
BUT maybe that helps their communicator out.
Let me explain:
Their commercials are so blatant, unapologetic, and open about the situation…I doubt they get people who call and question their practices, as it’s clear what exactly they’re there for.
I would bet they would get more people calling in to complain, in which case it goes to customer service, not communications.
That being said, I’d L.O.V.E. to be a fly on the wall of their customer service room. Maybe they should band with that Cheaters tv program to really entertain us!
WOW!! I never hear of such adds… But you gotta give it to them it could not be more to the point hen that. At least there not laying about it. It would be funny if they refused the service to singles..lol. It’s amazing how people make money sometime.
Sex Sells. The sex trade is one of oldest profession know to man.
To be successful in any business you must have clients. Ashley Madison has clients, as they have been in business a few years. Despite this being an immoral business it is a successful business story. I just wish I thought of it. “You have to give the people what they want.”
I think being so blatant about what they do works well for them. At the very least the shock value has people talking about the commercials and the company even among person’s who have not seen the commercial. So word of mouth is being used to spread knowledge of the company. It’s a despicable company, but their PR is genius.
This is a fantastic topic! I did a total double take the first time I saw an ad for this agency. I couldn’t beleive the unappologetic boldness of them.
I was also intrigued – they were initially marketing themselves solely as a service for married women, looking for extramarital affairs. This is a subject mentioned in the media far less frequently than married men having affairs.
I think they took the best marketing approach they possibly could have. I think their key messages are steadfast and well supported, even if they are far out of the realm of traditional views on morality. It’s not a job I’d be comfortable with.
This service is a sign of the times. Adultery has always existed, but there was a certain shame associated with it. But because this society is so obsessed with sex in any form, they can get away with this type of advertising, and some people won’t even blink an eye! How many times have you seen people committing adultery in regular tv shows? Desperate Housewives anyone?
It’s sad to see what this society has turned into. If you want to spread your seeds, then don’t get married! Cheating is selfish and hurts the family structure, and this service doesn’t help!
I feel that networks should reject their ad.
Hm, I’m drastically opposed to their ads, but let’s say I was advising their communicator, I might say, “Our service is no different from X or Y online dating service, and what we are provding demands the agreement between consenting adults who know what they are a part of.” Something to that effect?
It’s insanity. Our society has just fallen at its knees.
Ashley Madison Agency makes no bones about who they are and what they do, and they certainly aren’t the only site online promoting cheating. You only have to type “affair tips” in to Google to see the many sites dedicated to help people cheat.
That being said, Ashley Madison Agency has it’s share of problems. recently they were banned from purchasing ads on MSN.com, so it seems as if some of the bigger web portals are taking a stand.
The Ashley Madison Agency will be around for a while because it works. Many men and women write to me to tell me how it has helped them have an affair.
It may not be moral, but hey, this is the Internet. One surfer’s idea of morality is another persons ecstasy.
I found out about the ashley madison agency after doing some research of my own. I Googled “affair tips” and found a site that basically showed me how to cheat.
Now before you judge, i was an abused wife. After I had a couple of affairs my self confidence and self-worth returned and I was finally able to leave my bastard husband.
Having an affair was the means to an end for my marriage. For the first time in a long time, I am on top!
I will not judge you and I understand. It’s hard to leave an abusive relationship and I’ve had many friends in the same situation. I am just glad you were able to leave your husband and not believe in his lies.
I just saw an ad online for another one of these sites, called Married Flirtation. It seems there are more and more of these sites popping up!
I viewed the Married Flirtation site and it’s a sad state of affairs. I guess these websites/services will continue to pop up because there’s a “market” out there.
Who are we to judge the actions of others.
Personally if I was going to take this route I would use one of the free sites that are just as good as paying. And boy do they make you pay. £30-40 per month what a rip off.
Have a look at http://lovesithebug.wordpress.com there some interesting statisitcs about 54% are now looking for affairs and also why you shouldnt pay.
You say fifty-four per cent of people are looking for affairs? That’s an INSANE statistic! I mean, why cheat? Why don’t people just break up with the person they’re involved with and do whatever they want? No need to drag another person down with you.
Besides affairs can get really ugly and messy. Just save the heartache.
it called capitalism. if the market demans it, a service appears. i wish they were a public company…id buy stock. they are capitalizing on a niche market. if somebody wants to cheat, they will find a way with or without ashley madison. i dont think the existence of this service makes people cheat…it would mean that the existance of guns makes people shoot other people. peopole who arent inclined to cheat will not use the service. period. maybe the existance of this service will do some good to raise an awareness of how much american marriages are troubled. by the way, its NOT an AMERICAN COMPANY but a CANADIAN company. cant blame the united states for this one.
I figure out a way to estimate the ratio of men to women on the site. The result is 10.1 to 1, and a city by city analysis is at http://www.exploringtheerotic.wordpress.com