Tinder Launches Its First Ad: A Video Spot for Bud Light

Dating app Tinder launched its first in-app advertisement on Thursday, a video ad from Bud Light.

The ad, which will only be visible to those 21 and over, appears as users swipe between potential matches within the app. People can then play and pause the video, or click on an accompanying link to hear more about Bud Light’s ad campaign.

Bud Light “will test various video lengths over the course of the campaign,” according to a press release.

Tinder’s foray into advertising is not a shock. Re/code reported in February that Tinder was building its first in-house ad product and had recently named Brian Norgard as its first VP of ad products. IAC, the media company that owns a controlling stake in Tinder, has said on multiple earnings calls that advertising would come to the app in 2015.

Advertising is Tinder’s second revenue stream, which also includes a premium subscription model launched in early March. That business model was controversial at launch for charging older users a higher subscription fee than younger users.

The timing of the ad unit is interesting, given Tinder just hired a new CEO to replace the company’s co-founder, Sean Rad. Tinder hired former eBay executive Chris Payne to lead the dating service, an announcement Payne made late last month after Re/code broke the news; Rad now serves as president (in addition to maintaining his board seat).

It’s unclear how quickly Tinder’s ad business will ramp up — we actually couldn’t find the ad when swiping from multiple accounts. It’s typical for companies to take advertising slowly immediately after launch, a strategy most recently adopted by Instagram and Snapchat.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.

That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via