Match.com's Tube campaign backfires as commuters rally against 'selfish' Mark who never has his travelcard ready

The dating website launched a new campaign for the New Year, but Londoners aren’t warming to its fictional protagonist

It seems this is one imperfection that Londoners simply cannot love

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Liz Connor18 January 2016

If there’s one thing that’s unforgivable on the London Underground, it’s holding everyone else up at the ticket barrier while you fumble through your pockets looking for your Oyster card.

So it should come as no surprise that Match.com’s latest advertising campaign has spectacularly backfired, after the company created a poster of a single man named ‘Mark’ whose ‘loveable’ imperfection is never having his travelcard ready.

The dating website installed the posters of Mark and his foolhardy flaw across the capital, much to the glee of cynical Londoners who were quick to blast the singleton’s unforgivable behaviour over social media.

'Mark is going to be single for a very looooong time', said Tweeter Ian Stanton.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Mark is going to be single for a very looooong time <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/match?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159486-https://twitter.com/hashtag/match?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#match</a>.com <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/xiQTOJisgM" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159486-https://t.co/xiQTOJisgM" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/xiQTOJisgM</a> — Ian Stanton (@ianstanton) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ianstanton/status/686569510271324160" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159486-https://twitter.com/ianstanton/status/686569510271324160" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 11, 2016</a>

'It’s not an "Imperfection". It’s grounds for being taken out and shot', agreed Tweeter Gareth McClean, while Alexander Hamilton mused: 'Mark is going to die alone.'

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">It's not an "imperfection". It's for grounds for being taken out and shot. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/loveyourimperfections?src=hash" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159486-https://twitter.com/hashtag/loveyourimperfections?src=hash" data-vars-event-id="c23">#loveyourimperfections</a> <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/nBGwlDfngt" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159486-https://t.co/nBGwlDfngt" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/nBGwlDfngt</a> — Gareth McLean (@thegarethmclean) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/thegarethmclean/status/681940763966586881" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159486-https://twitter.com/thegarethmclean/status/681940763966586881" data-vars-event-id="c23">December 29, 2015</a>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">No Mark, you're a selfish prick <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/0SIMpMCxjJ" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159486-https://t.co/0SIMpMCxjJ" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/0SIMpMCxjJ</a> — Sophie Gadd (@sophie_gadd) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/sophie_gadd/status/684086213226196992" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159486-https://twitter.com/sophie_gadd/status/684086213226196992" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 4, 2016</a>

And while Mark’s female counterpart, Charlotte, also has her own irritating flaw - apparently she cannot say Marylebone correctly - Twitter users were quick to point out that this was but a lovable quirk in comparison to monstrous Mark, who regularly holds up ticket queues across London.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Look, Charlotte may be a sweet simpleton but Mark is a MONSTER. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://t.co/p43wJ3XjJb" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159486-https://t.co/p43wJ3XjJb" data-vars-event-id="c23">pic.twitter.com/p43wJ3XjJb</a> — Helen O'Hara (@HelenLOHara) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/HelenLOHara/status/688673062921850881" class="body-link" data-vars-item-name="BL-3159486-https://twitter.com/HelenLOHara/status/688673062921850881" data-vars-event-id="c23">January 17, 2016</a>

A spokesperson for Match.com said: 'While Mark is an actor, his imperfection is clumsiness and in this case, it leads to him forget to have his travel card ready to swipe through the tube barriers – something that we’re sure many Londoners can relate to.