Valentine in the eyes of advertisers

Now that Valentine’s Day has passed is time for the aftermath of the issue-related advertisements. While for many people Valentine’s Day is another day to express the feelings towards their loved ones, for companies is yet another occasion to create buzz around their brand and for advertisers to demonstrate their creativity. There were all sorts of reactions towards this year Valentine's ads.   

It is definitively easy to make bad ads and there are many out there, but it is not that easy to make good ones. However, if they are good, they get viral fast. This is the case of Schwarzkopf’s ad revealed almost a week ago. It is not clear the connection between the product being advertised and the ad itself, however it is beautifully created to deliver the message: “are the little things that make us fall in love with someone.” Until now, the ad has reached more than 6 million views on YouTube. “You- A declaration of love” is definitively the most romantic ad so far this year for one simple reason: it presents the importance of details in a relationship. 

Source: Schwarzkopf YouTube channel

While many companies around the world were prepared to say Happy Valentine’s Day through TV or print ads, this year, the Flower Council of Holland brought Valentine’s Day to another level. In case of love at first sight? Flower Council of Holland was prepared to give a hand to people walking in the streets of Paris who all of a sudden would experience the spark of love. 1500 little red boxes with single red roses inside were placed around Paris for this purpose. Quite an interesting idea in case of "love emergencies." 

Source: http://www.adweek.com/

But, besides the classic love appeals with flowers and sweet gestures in ads , there were other ads that delivered more extreme messages this Valentine. The producers of “Dumb Ways to Die” were back this Valentine with a short story-telling video. The character in “Dumb ways to die” who sold his two kidneys on the Internet is in the center of the video "Dumb Ways to Valentine," but this time he rips off his heart to give it to his partner. The message is a little too extreme “Your Valentine is worth every sacrifice,” but the ad in general is appealing as it suggest people to be safe around Valentine’s Day… and of course trains. The video was posted 2 days before Valentine's day and so far has more than 2 million views. 

IKEA's Singapore ad agency people had also some playful ideas this Valentine. Never thought of a chair delivering a Valentine’s Day message? Well, one chair cannot do much, but two can certainly get in to some action. IKEA’s chairs said “Happy Valentine’s Day” this year in a unique way as shown in the print ad below. 

Source: adsoftheworld.com