{"id":22109,"date":"2023-10-06T15:23:59","date_gmt":"2023-10-06T06:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=22109"},"modified":"2023-10-06T15:24:01","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T06:24:01","slug":"20231006-22109","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20231006-22109\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese otaku-targeted dating app\u2019s bizarre AI image advertising leads to 3x \u2013 7x increase in female users\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Japanese otaku-targeted dating app <strong>Otakoi<\/strong> (jp: \u30aa\u30bf\u604b), which had previously gone viral for their incessant advertising using jarring AI generated images, has recently reported that, contrary to popular belief, the whole ordeal has caused an increase in female members of their platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">AI\u5e83\u544a\u3067\u7206\u5897\u3057\u305f\u306e\u306f\u5973\u6027\u30e6\u30fc\u30b6\u30fc\u3067\u3059\u3002\u904b\u55b6\u3067\u3082\u60f3\u5b9a\u5916\u3067\u3057\u305f\u3002 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iB6FCDxKng\">https:\/\/t.co\/iB6FCDxKng<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u30aa\u30bf\u604b\u3010\u516c\u5f0f\u3011 (@otakoi_jp) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/otakoi_jp\/status\/1709398276246773798?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 4, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> \n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><font size=\"2\"><strong>Post translation:<\/strong> The AI advertising caused an explosion in female users. We were surprised too.&nbsp;<\/font><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Otakoi is a dating app that launched in November 2022 with the purpose of helping people with otaku-like hobbies match up and find their significant others. Since May 2023, Otakoi started a rather bizarre marketing campaign that consisted of posting large volumes of AI generated images of pretty young women and idealized couples on their social media (<a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/nongaming-news\/20230626-19756\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Related article<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Otakoi\u2019s virality suddenly exploded when users started picking up on a certain shocking image (seen below) that features a stereotypical overweight otaku man and a slim, large-breasted woman.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u306f\u3058\u3081\u3066\u306e\u30de\u30c3\u30c1\u30f3\u30b0\u30a2\u30d7\u30ea\u306f\u3001\u30aa\u30bf\u604b\u3002<\/p>&mdash; \u30aa\u30bf\u604b\u3010\u516c\u5f0f\u3011 (@otakoi_jp) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/otakoi_jp\/status\/1669008269455790081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">June 14, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from users poking fun at the image, it was also criticized for perceived pandering to male users, with people saying things like \u201cWhat woman is going to see this and register?\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, in a statement for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.itmedia.co.jp\/news\/articles\/2310\/05\/news179.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ITmedia<\/a> on October 5, HMSYSTEMS, the company operating Otakoi, revealed that after the advertising went viral, the number of new male members on their platform increased by 1.5 to 2 times, while the number of female users increased by 3 to 7 times. Representatives commented that the ads going viral may have raised the brand\u2019s recognition and trustworthiness, making women more open to trying it out.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1075\" height=\"668\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1075px) 100vw, 1075px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22114\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-001.jpg 1075w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-001-600x373.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-001-380x236.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-001-768x477.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-001-150x93.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-001-300x186.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-001-696x432.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-001-1068x664.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-001-676x420.jpg 676w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-001-356x220.jpg 356w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>They even mention that, after the overweight couple advertising went viral in mid-July, they changed their marketing strategy and swapped out the usual images of cute girls and fit couples with more overweight couple images, leading to a steady increase in users.\u00a0Now, HMSYSTEMS even have an Otakoi merch <a href=\"https:\/\/mercari-shops.com\/shops\/M4bew8PfoEkMePKdnSSFt7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">store<\/a>, where they sell print T-shirts of their AI generated images, and they have released LINE (Japanese messenger app) <a href=\"https:\/\/store.line.me\/themeshop\/product\/9e343895-19eb-4efe-a931-7594043941c5\/ja\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stickers<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/store.line.me\/emojishop\/author\/8113418\/ja\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UI themes<\/a> using the imagery as well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1085\" height=\"537\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1085px) 100vw, 1085px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22115\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-002.jpg 1085w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-002-600x297.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-002-380x188.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-002-768x380.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-002-150x74.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-002-300x148.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-002-696x344.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-002-1068x529.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-002-849x420.jpg 849w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/20231006-22109-002-324x160.jpg 324w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Otakoi app on the <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.apple.com\/jp\/app\/%E3%82%AA%E3%82%BF%E6%81%8B\/id6443501378\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">App Store<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=jp.ota_koi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Play Store<\/a> in Japanese. HMSYSTEMS have mentioned wanting to challenge overseas expansion as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Japanese otaku-targeted dating app Otakoi, which had previously gone viral for their advertising using jarring AI generated images, has recently reported a dramatic increase in female members of their platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":22111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17,66],"class_list":["post-22109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news","tag-non-gaming-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Japanese otaku-targeted dating app\u2019s bizarre AI image advertising leads to 3x \u2013 7x increase in female users\u00a0 - 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