CYBERSPACE — Everybody knows that chocolate is for lovers and that lovers need a way to meet one another so that they can exchange chocolate and thus express the depth and deliciousness of their love. So, in some ways, the chocolate website vs. saucy dating website confusion isn’t as incompatible as it may seem at first, but still…The last thing most consumers hoping to learn about Mars Incorporated’s newest chocolate bar expect to find when they visit what they think is its promotional site is a dating service encouraging members to “Hook up with sexy singles looking for fun adult dating,” on the “Hottest Place to Hook Up.”
But, just as Bristol Palin advises young women to think twice before having sex, it is advisable to double check a URL before assuming it goes where you’re hoping it will go.
Such is apparently the case with Mars’ new Fling chocolate bar (available in milk chocolate, dark chocolate and exotic hazelnut) and the Fling adult dating website.
No nefarious code-jacking has taken place. No evil porn webmaster is rerouting traffic or otherwise duping innocent chocolate eaters into staring into the face of raw online lust in an attempt to find a sweet treat connection.
People are just typing in the URL wrong.
Those hoping to learn more about the “sweet, light truffle on a subtle crisp layer enrobed in shimmering chocolate that’s as glamorous as you are” want to visit www.FlingChocolate.com. Although the site does encourage consumers, presumed to be women, to “Have a fling” and “Pleasure yourself,” it’s encouraging them to stuff their faces with 85 calorie snack bars – not meet some guy who turns out to really be 85 when they finally meet him face-to-face at a divey bar.
The URL that some candy-loving surfers are typing into their browser search windows is www.Fling.com, however.
Fling, the chocolate bar, is being introduced throughout the United States with a stylish and mildly suggesting campaign that is expected to expand into the UK soon. The new bar is the first to be added to the Mars line in more than 20 years.
