Ashley Madison wants You to Have an Affair!

Written by Zac Johnson
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In what may have been one of the outrageous exhibitors at not only Affiliate Summit, but any other conference I have attended… AshleyMadison.com takes the cake. “Life is Short. Have an Affair“… that’s the slogan behind AshleyMadison.com, which is a dating network specialized towards people looking for “extra-marital affairs“. Instead of on the exhibit floor, maybe this one belonged in the “Ethics of Affiliate Marketing” Panel? I know I wouldn’t have wanted my $4,995 booth next to theirs!

While looking up more information on the company, I found another article on their business of making millions by connecting cheaters. For the CEO of the company… breaking up relationships is purely business.

“This is just a business to me. This is a market need, just like any other business that’s successful. There’s huge demand for it,” says Chief Operating Officer Noel Biderman, who is married with children. Biderman says he is faithful to his wife, but he doesn’t object to the fact that cheaters have helped his online business make more than $20 million since it started in 2002.


Flyers handed out at Ashley Madison Booth
“Thou Shall Make Money from Adultery”

I’m sure they would have had a lot more attendees at their booth if they had fellow adulterer John Edwards in the house… so, what are your thoughts on AshleyMadison and their attendance at Affiliate Summit East 2008?

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47 Replies to “Ashley Madison wants You to Have an Affair!”

  1. i wonder what would Noel think if his wife cheated him using his service! lol

    This is another proof that this kind of business is profitable… Just look at craiglist to see who is looking for some fun…. you'd be surprised… or not…

    1. See a need, fill a need.

      For me, it's immoral, but it's not as bad running adult niches.

        1. I guess you have a point. The more I think about it, the more I am agreeing with you.

  3. I did everything I could to avoid them (sorry to their neighbors, Market Leverage). But then I gave in when I saw they had golf balls to give away. I'm a sucker for free stuff.

    1. I'm sure they have done their share of research, and found that it's better to walk away with golf balls, then no balls at all. Giving away anything they can to get people to stop at their booth.

  4. Hi Zac, Great post….It brings up the issue.. can anyone who can pay the tab exhibit? Does affiliate Summit and the other trade shows,ad-tech etc. have guidelines

    1. Affiliate Summit has a policy where "sponsorships will not be sold to adult or gambling companies."

      We are open to revisiting policies whenever we receive complaints.

  5. I would love to hear what Sean or Misty from Affiliate Summit thinks of this issue?

  6. I spoke with Shawn about this at the conference. I was as shocked as could be to see them at the show. I would not expect to see them, again — even if it's only because I don't believe they received much value for the conference. I am not speaking for Shawn, Missy or Affiliate Summit in any official capacity [/disclaimer]

  9. What about the issue of merchants exhibiting and recruiting affiliates directly while their booth is right next to an affiliate network carrying their offer…guess it makes negotiating payout easier…you don't have to walk far.

  10. In terms of marketing, it was brilliant! I couldn't resist, I just had to grab one of their shirts, even though I will probably never wear it.

  13. On second thought, this could simply be hardcore corporate linkbait! Get a ton of links and traffic then switch the business! 😀

  14. That's just wrong …

    Saw a news piece on them awhile back, they actually will create fake hotel/airfare/business receipts etc… to create a nice alibi for you! It's unbelievable, but the sadder part is the biz seems to be doing well and growing.

  17. I agree with above poster – It was a bad call by Shawn and others to let this exhibt into the summit. This Noel guy is a pure lowlife and I can't wait until someone brings a plague to his site for which there is no cure.

  18. I think they cross a line that shouldn't be crossed, especially at Summit. I'm all for risque entertainment and such, but facilitating adultery is over the line. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something.

  20. Damn, you guys are pretty harsh. The reality of the world is that some people simply are not satisfied with their sex lives. Some people don't get sex at all, but many times divorce is too costly, there are children involved, etc..

    There is a huge demand for this service and I give them credit for fulfilling a need. Whether you want to promote it or not is your decision, but don't instill your morality on others.

    1. Lines have been drawn at Summit. I don't care if they exist, I don't care if they make millions – I care that they're at a trade show that I feel they don't belong at. Shawn and Missy don't allow porn services at Summit, and they shouldn't allow this.

      As for "instilling your morality on others", all of us do that all the time. You just have your lines drawn a little further away than some of us.

  21. i'm willing to bet that everyone bashing this company is a noob in the marketing world. a lot if not most people market products that they have no ties to or dont care about at all, just because they're profitable. people are gonna cheat anyway, so if you can make money helping them do it, why not? who cares? if ashleymadison didnt exist, the same people using it now would be cheating anyway, they'd just be using other dating sites and bars to do it

    1. Yes, of course, people have morals so we are instantly AM noobs. Made a lot of sense.

      I'm going to start a site called edgein.com. It's going to be great service! I'll match serial killers up with victims through 666 dimensions in order to gain maximum compatibility. Furthermore all members addresses will be accessible no matter the level of membership.

      The bottom line is; yes, cheating happens, but sites like ashley empower people even more.

      1. Yeah, I can make money in the adult industry, but when my kids ask me what I do, and how I make money, I don't want to have to tell them I peddle porn.

  22. They were at Affiliate Summit West so I wasn't shocked to see them at Affiliate Summit East. I still remember the TV informercials they used to run. Those were pretty funny.

  23. I have seen these guys before. It's the same old thing…sex sells. I really think this is worse than the adult niche. If some single guy or even married guy wants to watch porn…who cares? Screwing up your marriage, though, is not worth it. I haven't been able to bring myself to market them.

  24. This is preposterous! Whatever will they think of next? So there is a market for teaching terrorists how to make bombs; should there be a service for teaching that as well?

  26. As much as I would love to make money I stop at crap like this that display no morals. What is really shocking is that society lets this sort of stuff exist. I was always under the impression that adultery was illegal.

    Perhaps I should set up a stand next to them. "Finding And Kicking To The Kerb Cheating Partners….No Fee Too Small!

  32. They should be ashamed of themselves for finding more reasons to make Americans look like soulless individuals who can't even hold the most basic of values. I am sick and tired of the youth and this new pop culture telling us what is "cool" or acceptable. It is time to speak out against this nonsense. I am sure everything is so funny to those who are doing wrong, until it is their spouse who cheats on them. Bravo Greed.

  33. There are a ton of sites out there devoted to helping people cheat on their husbands and wives. Type "affair tips" in google and see how much stuff is out there. I personally think it is great because it gives us a great place to catch people cheating. Set up a profile describing what you think your husband or wife is in to, then sit back and wait for them to contact you.

    I'm sure the divorce lawyers would love to see those screen shots!

  36. @Curtis:

    I wonder what percentage of all these "moral" people railing against it are either cheating on their spouse, have cheated on their spouse, or wish they were. I bet the number would be surprising. So what is more disturbing? The fact that there are smut peddlers or the fact that it is so lucrative because so many people demand it. Seems like the "moral" viewpoint is either in the minority or overrun with hypocrites.

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