In an effort to get his first date, a young man disclosed the reactions he received to a billboard of himself.
The path to real love has never been easy, but for one lonely man, neither Hinge nor Tinder nor any other online dating service have been able to assist him in finding a compatible girlfriend.
When he turned 23, Leeds resident Ed Chapman said he felt like he had ‘reached an age where [he] should have been on one date before’.
Ed chose to be inventive rather than fully give up on finding love.
For “all of [his] 23 years,” according to Ed, he has been “single,” but he is now ‘ready to find someone to hopefully be in a relationship with’.
He said: “I had tried some dating apps, but it didn’t go well for me at all.”
Ed decided to think outside the box and approach potential girlfriends via something they could definitely not ignore: a huge billboard with his face and email on it.
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Ed shared: “I decided I needed to try something different and thought having my own billboard would be a good way of meeting people.”
The 23-year-old “didn’t think it would be possible” at first, though, because it was tough to locate a business that would accept his proposal.
Fortunately, Ed was able to rent the billboard for a week through 75media, a Leeds-based outdoor advertising company.
The M621 highway, which runs directly into Leeds, is the ideal position because it not only attracts hundreds of drivers every day but also places the potential match in the ideal spot, saving Ed the trouble of making a long commute.
Ed said that when his family learned about the extent he was willing to go to in order to get a first date, they were “very startled.”
He told: “They found out through other people, so it was a shock. They thought it was funny, but they’re happy I’m trying to find someone, even if it’s in quite an unorthodox way.”
But has the billboard been effective in attracting women, or should Ed return to the apps?
Ed revealed: “I received my first message on the same day the billboard went live and since then, I’ve had a few messages from women between the ages of 18 to 48. It’s quite a mix.”
The 23-year-old claimed that the billboard was intended to represent his personality and that many women found it hilarious.
Since then, Ed has spoken with four ladies, all of whom are ‘all keen to go on a date’ with him.