Single 30-Year-Old Guy Buys Billboard Asking Women to Date Him
By Robin ZlotnickUpdated Feb. 4 2020, 1:24 p.m. ET
If you're a single adult looking to date these days, you've probably turned to dating apps. The problem is, no matter how special you are — and you are, you're really special! — all dating app profiles look the same. It can be hard to distinguish yourself from the sea of other smiling, lonely people looking for a match.
One guy decided to take his dating life into his own hands. Mark Rofe, a marketing professional from Sheffield, England, put his skills to work to benefit his personal life. He bought a huge billboard to advertise himself on a busy road in Manchester. And the billboard leads to a website, DatingMark.co.uk, where you can get to know Mark and fill out an application to go on a date with him. Can you say "genius"?
The dating apps weren't working, so I bought a billboard and set up a website to stand out and try get a date.
Help me out https://t.co/ddz5s5aTul #DateMark pic.twitter.com/z4nBlA4v1X
— Mark Rofe 🧦 (@iamrofe) January 31, 2020The billboard is something else, but it's the website where Mark's humor really shines. On the Date Mark homepage, you can learn all about him. "I'm Mark," he writes, "an extremely handsome and modest 30-year-old living in Sheffield. I work in marketing, and if you're reading this, then I must be pretty OK at it." Touché, Mark. Touché.
He continues, "You’re probably here because you’re interested in dating me (thank you, I’m flattered), or you’re just wondering wtf this website is about.
"I bought a billboard in Manchester and made this website because I’m single, all my friends are getting married, and I’m struggling to get a date."
He offers some essential stats about himself — height, length of index finger, friends (2), number of girls kissed (over 3) — a few photos, and a link to an application that you can fill out if you are interested in going on a date with him.
People love it. He's got a counter up on the website, and so far, 1,557 people have submitted applications to go on a date with Mark! It helps that this whole venture went extremely viral. This is not only good for Mark's dating life, but it's also proof Mark is pretty damn good good at his job as a marketing professional.
In an interview with Metro, Mark explains why he started this project: "I've been single for a little while now, and many of my friends are married or in long-term relationships. I've tried the dating apps, but they just weren't working for me, so I decided to try something a little bit different to try and stand out."
Well, it worked. He put the billboard in Manchester because it's one of the largest cities in the UK and near where he lives. He wanted as much visibility as possible, and I think it's safe to say he was successful.
He insists that even though he works in marketing, this is not a stunt. He really wants a date, and he's really hoping to use these methods to meet the girl of his dreams.
If you're a fan of Mark's venture but aren't in the position to date him, you can always contribute to the crowdfunding site he set up. If his first billboard doesn't work, he's planning to use the money to... buy more billboards. Obviously.
The site says Mark is "hoping to raise enough funds to purchase billboard advertising in some of the following cities: Dublin, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Sheffield, Portsmouth, Bristol, and London." He wants his name out there, and he wants to find the woman he was meant to be with, no matter where in the UK she's located.
"If at first you don't succeed, buy more billboards," he told Metro. Sounds like a solid plan to me. But with his newfound internet fame, which has ballooned into chat show appearances and memes already, he might not even need those extra billboards.
Here's to hoping Mark connects with the person he was meant to be with forever. And here's hoping they continue to update that website far into their relationship. I bet people would tune in.
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