Does using model pics helps a marriage site? [Cheesy]
Planning to get married? So you register at a matrimony site and subscribe to their email updates.
The email updates/newsletter, sometimes will have a damn beautiful chick – so you click and search for her – though you may not find her, you might end up settling with somebody else – atleast that’s what a matrimonial site thinks of!
Well, a smart guy just figured out that the pic (in one of the email newsletter) was a model’s pic sourced from imagesbazaar.
Email Newsletter
Fake Profile? Or Cheap Marketing?
The site in question is SimplyMarry – we sincerely hope that this wasn’t a marketing ploy (if it is, it’s quite a sad one) as faking data doesn’t serve any purpose.
But why would a user fake her profile (and is there a check on images that are uploaded to the site?) – Is it coincident that the said user profile (if real) makes it to the email newsletter?
What’s your opinion?
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About the author - Ashish Sinha is a Startup Mentor/Product Strategy Coach, and the founder/chief editor of pluGGd.in.
He has launched/managed couple of products (consumer as well as enterprise) in US and India, and now consults with startups/small businesses on their product/media strategy. He can be reached at: ashish (at) pluGGd.in [+91 98452 06443]
Of course its stock photography. What else would it be?
Can you imagine the nightmare of having to find appropriate images(beautiful women/handsome men) from the website itself, than deal with getting permission from that person to send it out in a newsletter?
And doesnt the fact that they would forward a few selected profiles in a newsletter mean that those so published will be recieving more responses? That would impact the sites neutrality. I cant see the email too clearly, but it shouldnt be deceptive, i.e. Join our site and get married to her!, but barring that Stocks images are the right way to deal with this.
Well the image reads
“Hi, I am Seema
27 yrs of age
working in a convent school
as an english teacher”
Now that is deceptive enough for you to believe that the girl in the pic do have her profile on the website. Some versions of the ads from matrimonial sites have buttons like “chat now”, “email me” right next to pretty-faced girls. I believe they won’t work either.
It skirts theline, but I think they are ok. I think it would matter in what context you recieve this newsletter. Are you already a member or not? If your already a member this is pretty deceptive even if its not outright lying. If your not than its just an ad.
Wow… it is a great find! whenever I used to see these matrimonial ads on the web, I always believed they are the photos of models. and if they are not why would such beautiful women keep their profile on matrimonial websites
Hehe, good “catch”
If you have to fake it, be smart about it
gr8 work suraj..
)
@Chandra
Absolutely true
Here are the links of 3 images used by Simplemarry in thier mails
http://www.imagesbazaar.com/preview.aspx?id=144551&s=3
http://www.imagesbazaar.com/preview.aspx?id=134859&s=3
http://www.imagesbazaar.com/preview.aspx?id=134815&s=3
Isn’t it eye candy advertising?
They should have been more discreet though.
For fruther reading :
Nice blog post “Do matrimony site ads actually work? ”
discusses how using the same model images for longer period might be hampering the Matrimonial sites brands
http://whitespace.umeshgopinath.com/2008/12/do-matrimony-site-ads-work.html
I have worked on Rediff matrimonials. We used to send out REAL profiles to the users after doing a matching. The one showed above is deceptive and upright wrong.
-mixdev
surprisingly i know some ppl who actually used to believe (dumbly) that these are real people who have posted their own profiles on the matrimonial website and trying to masquerade as someone else by putting up pictures other than their own!
and ur shaadi ad post of course had a shaadi couple pic ad in the feed
For that matter, you cannot use models anywhere in advertisements?
Aishwarya rai in Lux Soap, …does it mean that we will become Aish if we use the soap?
Deepika in BSNL.. does it mean that the service can only be used by hep beauties like deepika?
Bipasha.. on using that shampoo.. will u get that definitely-long-strong-fake hair????
packages of condoms.. does it mean that u will have super mojo to have sex and enjoy like they show in those pic, if u use them?
sir, advertisement is not real life depiction.. its a marketing strategy to lure people to like your service and familiarize them….
I see nothing wrong in their mails…
My goodness – you seem to have no clue on email newsletter vs. advertising.
When you subscribe to email newsletters (that are supposed to be sent on a query basis), you should (i repeat, should) receive real data – and not fake ads.
Okay – so you are the kind who will abuse your registered users by faking data (in the name of advertising)..great sir!
sir, this is not a search-bot newsletter that is supposed to send you profiles of people who match your requirement..
This is clearly an advertising newletter, that the admins push to ur inbox, once they get hold of your email ids…
See the subject of the mail “Simplest way to meet your dream bride from your own caste”. If the subject had been something like “These people match your search”, “Profile matches for you Mr xxx”, Recently uploaded profiles from your xxx caste”, then I will agree with your point…
but now its just a simple spam ad in your inbox..
wow!
so why do they have fake profiles then?
You cant play with user’s trust – in such a case, they shd have said ‘meet beautiful brides @ blah..”
Every business operate on some commodity – in SimplyMarry’s case its user profiles. For that simple reason, faking a profile is improper. Especially if they state fake photos with fake demographics, it is more improper
You can’t compare Lux/Condom ads with SimplyMarry’s newsletter.
@Arun Vijayan
Exactly!
Its ethically wrong to claim you can sell a product which is actually absent from your inventory.
Comparing Aishwarya using Lux to SimplyMarry’s fake profiles is improper. Aishwarya is not the commodity which is sold here, its the soap. I can understand that if they make the soap look beautiful on screen/print but they do have the same shape and color of the original. There is something which i can expect for in the product. But the fake profiles are completely fraudulent types. May be they should just use a good looking couple picture for the ad who can endorse the brand. But not try to sell something which doesn’t exist at all.
The Times of India group which owns SimplyMarry.com are known for voilating every norm – from FERA voilations, to passing off adverts as news (they started the “Paid PR” concept), to their ET journalists being caught trying to blackmail a company.
This is the smallest scam.
Often TOI lifts images from individual blogs as well without any acknowledgement – leave aside permission.
I don’t get what’s so special about this post. Every ad and marketing person uses image sources like ImagesBazaar for their promotional works. This includes pictures of models posing as brides, doctors, drunkards or whatever. The customer these days are prudent enough to understand that these are mere models selling a product or service.
Aren’t majority of the thumbnail images in social networking sites like Orkut fake pics of some models/actors? Aren’t these people too culpable for misleading?
Devanga Vivaha.com is an exclusive matrimonial portal for Marathi Devanga community people across India. The portal has the exclusive members who belong to Marathi Devanga community and is interested in matrimonial services.