The hidden opportunity in Tango marketing – part 1

The Problem of Tango Advertising

Two years ago, I wrote about the way Tango is advertised and how misleading and limiting that messaging can be. Since then, many things have happened, but I still stand by what I said. Advertising Tango as a dance of passion, drenched in sensual and sexual imagery, deprives it of a much greater potential impact in today’s world.

But hey… I won’t tell you everything in the first paragraph. Stick around, this is going to be a long journey. A journey of different posts.

The Weight of Reaching Out

As someone slightly introverted and shy, I’ve always found it surprisingly hard to arrange something as simple as a coffee with a friend. There’s a huge obstacle that stands in my way… sending that first message. You know the one:

“Hey, what’s up? What are you doing Saturday night? Want to hang out?”

Throughout my life, there have been long periods when I avoided going out entirely, not because I didn’t want to, but because I told myself, “If they didn’t call me, they probably don’t want me around.”. I made up excuses. I assumed the worst.

What worked best, for a while, was having a couple of friends with whom socialising became a habit. For some years, for example, I knew that every Sunday morning, we’d meet for coffee. No need for planning… just a silent agreement. We’d only call (yes, we actually phoned back then) to choose where to meet. The when and who were a given.

I even remember the summer after finishing school. I would go alone to a specific bar and find classmates there. No messages exchanged. We just knew. That’s what it meant to have a “place.”

Loneliness Is the New Smoking

The World Health Organisation now recognises loneliness as a serious public health concern, comparable, in impact, to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. Globally, nearly 1 in 6 adults report feeling lonely, with the problem especially acute in countries like the US and UK.

COVID, of course, accelerated the problem. Social distancing became a norm. But another, quieter factor added fuel to the fire: the decline of third spaces.

Third spaces are places where people casually connect outside their homes and workplaces. Places like cafés, community centres, gyms, libraries, and even hobby groups. The rise of remote work, online classes, food delivery, and streaming services has made it easier than ever to avoid leaving the house. What’s missing are the daily, low-effort interactions that made us feel part of something.

And while many of you reading this might still go out a few times a week to dance, take a moment to look around. You’ll see people… perhaps friends… family… becoming more isolated, more withdrawn.

What we often forget is: milongas are third spaces.

Tango in My Moment of Loneliness

When I met my partner, I was at a point in life where I had lost quite a few of my friends I could casually meet up. Most of them moved away because of their jobs. Over time, my few remaining friends also moved away, and my only social interactions were through my partner’s social circle.

Tango, without even intending to, gave me back a social life. I began building friendships of my own… people I shared a passion with… people I saw every week. We danced, we laughed, we struggled through classes together. Eventually, some of those connections deepened, and they extended outside the milonga too.

And that happened not because I made an effort to network, but because I simply showed up. Over and over again. That rhythm of showing up makes things grow.

Later on, when I first moved to Frankfurt, I only knew one colleague who had moved at the same time. My partner joined me about a month later. During that first period, even though I spent time with coworkers, I often felt lonely.

And when my partner arrived, that didn’t solve everything. You can’t expect one person to be your partner, friend, colleague, and emotional anchor all at once. That’s too much of a burden. You need different outlets, different people, and different places to meet and connect with others. For me, Tango became one of those outlets.

I didn’t connect with people in the community immediately (but that’s a story for another post). Still, I knew there was a place I could go every week, where I could dance, chat, meet new people, and recharge my “social batteries.”

The Message Tango Marketing Misses

In all the glossy posters and dramatic videos that try to sell Tango, one message is consistently missing, perhaps the most powerful one:

Tango helps you make friends.
Tango gives you a third space.

The classes, the practicas, the milongas, they’re all structured, regular, welcoming places you can walk into without texting anyone first. You just go… and over time.. the repetition turns strangers into acquaintances… and acquaintances into friends.

Even if the rest of your life feels isolated, you know that these few hours… this class… this milonga… will give you some joy.

Some contact.
Someone to talk to.
Someone to hold, or be held by.

And for many people, that’s not a small thing. It’s a huge thing. It may be the only in-person social interaction they had in the day!

If I Were to Market Tango…

If I were in charge of marketing Tango, I wouldn’t start with a sultry couple in an intimate pose. I’d start with moments in a milonga.

People laughing… talking… embracing.
People allowing themselves, without even saying it, to say:

“I’m lonely.”
“I need this.”
“I need you.”

And through Tango,
they are heard…
they are seen…
they are embraced!

Tonight’s Goodnight Tango

Tonight’s goodnight tango talks about friendship. About three friends who lost contact without explaining why, and the singer sings with nostalgia, remembering the good times they had.

How about you? How did Tango impact your social life? Did you find new friends? Did it maybe save you from loneliness? Let me know…

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