Roses are red and violets… seem to be dying out and becoming a thing of the past…
Consumers are reporting that valentine’s is becoming too commercialised however the social pressure to get involved is rather inescapable.
Romance isn’t dead… though the shift in Consumer behaviours has influenced an anti-valentines trend. Retailers and brands are tapping into the movement, especially online retailer Etsy, which is becoming increasingly popular with customers seeking unique and novelty products. Even those who are still feeling romantic are going somewhat anti-valentines and opting for untraditional gifts.
The trend continues across social media with comical memes and hashtags #AntiValentines and #SingleLifeIn3Words, receiving 97.6K tweets which isn’t far off #ValentinesDay receiving 170K tweets.
On the Advertising front, Doritos executed an impressive valentines campaign last year; forget candy and flowers, how about a bouquet of Ketchup-flavoured Doritos? Delivery services were available for consumers within Canada and for those outside of these zones they shared tips to ‘get crafty for love’ by providing ideas and instructions on their website for the public to create their own, undoubtedly winning the hearts of everyone.
Top of my valentine’s 2016 list has got to be Holland & Barrett for producing an ingeniously simplistic campaign. Playing on the ‘Before anyone else’ acronym ‘BAE’; the product combined Vitamins B, A & E and carried a strapline “Pick up yours before anyone else”.
If 2016 is anything to go by, it seems we’re kissing goodbye to traditional advertising and marketing tactics this February and spreading the anti-valentines love – regardless of relationship status.
