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The day of love … more like the day of discounted candy, flower giveaways and free doughnuts. What do you mean we're misunderstanding the true spirit of Valentine’s Day?
In all seriousness, Valentine’s Day is as much about selling as it is about loving. Total spending on significant others is expected to reach a record $14.2 billion in 2024, according to the National Retail Federation. And it’s not just lovers — the same study found about 29% of those spending Valentine’s Day single plan to mark the occasion with a self-care treat or evening with friends.
Every year, brands try to get in on the action with campaigns designed to drum up Valentine’s Day business. We looked back on the past decade and picked one marketing campaign from each year that highlights the sometimes silly, sometimes baffling, always entertaining ways brands sell love to their publics.
2014: Mercedes-Benz’s Smart Car Crooners
True to its name, the Mercedes-Benz smart car’s marketing team had its thinking cap on while creating a Valentine’s Day campaign in 2014.
Smarts encouraged New Yorkers to make a post on X of their own or their significant other’s location with the #smartcrooners tag. Throughout Valentine’s Day, two smart fortwos zoomed through the city delivering impromptu concerts to some lucky X-posters.
The R&B singer-songwriter Case rode along in one car and the second-season American Idol winner Ruben Studdard in another, adding a celebrity touch to each serenade.
Embarrassing or thoughtful? When it came to these curbside concerts, the gift was likely in the eye of the beholder.
2015: McDonald’s Pay with Lovin’
The idea was sweet enough – instead of paying for a Happy Meal or Big Mac with money, McDonald’s encouraged customers to “Pay with Lovin’’’ by performing a compassionate act like dancing or fist-bumping an employee.
The 2015 campaign received a less-than-loving reaction from customers and media. The Chicago Tribune called the campaign a “stupid stunt,” while a journalist with the Wall Street Journal described her experience dancing for free breakfast as “public embarrassment.”
Forcing employees to put on a show of happiness and cheer counted as emotional labor, added “Pay with Lovin’’’ critics.
Safe to say McDonald’s customers paid in cash for their meals the following Valentine’s Day.
2016: Spotify’s Love Notes
Too scared to admit your feelings out loud? In 2016, Spotify had your favorite tunes say them for you.
This campaign gave users the chance to send secret messages to their crush through the popular music streaming platform. Hopeless romantics could enter a 54-character message and three music genres into a generator that created a playlist in which the first letter of each song title spelled out a secret message.
Now, that’s pretty “Call Me Maybe,” “Ocean Avenue,” “Ophelia,” “Life is a Highway.”
2017: Snickers’ Forgetfulness
No planning skills, no problem.
This 2017 campaign targeted London railway commuters who had forgotten to get a Valentine’s Day card for their significant other. Snickers played on its “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign with a special poster reading “You’re Forgetful When You’re Hungry” set up on Feb. 14 in the London Waterloo railway station.
The “Forgetful” was made out of 3,000 Valentine’s Day cards that passersby could peel off and take home to gift to their significant others.
On Feb. 15, the candy company put up a second set of cards that read,“Sorry I forgot. On the plus side, booking a restaurant should be easier.”
We’d forgive anyone for missing Valentine’s Day if they showed up with enough chocolate to make up for it.
2018: The Body Shop’s Send a Kiss
Makeup messages mean memorable marketing.
Bath product store The Body Shop celebrated its new liquid lipstick line with a Valentine’s Day-themed social media campaign in 2018. Makeup gurus could share a selfie of themselves blowing a kiss to a friend with #SendingaKiss to win various sets of the brand’s all-new lip line.
A Valentine’s campaign not limited to people who actually have Valentines is a campaign after our own heart. Sign us up for some friendship love any day.
2019: Morrisons’ Rainbow Roses
For one memorable Valentine’s Day, Morrisons ditched the traditional red and pink and embraced the rainbow instead.
The UK supermarket launched the Rainbow Rose, bouquets of roses with each petal dyed a different color of the rainbow, in an inclusivity-focused 2019 campaign.
A share of each rose sale went to the LGBTQ+ youth homeless charity The Albert Kennedy Trust, which provides safe homes and support to queer youth.
2020: Burger King’s Birds of Prey
Forget what Taylor Swift said — don’t burn that picture of your ex. You never know when you’ll be able to trade it for a free burger.
In 2020, participating Burger Kings in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston partnered with the just-released movie “Birds of Prey,” in which Harley Quinn breaks up with the Joker. Instead of celebrating “cuffing season,” this campaign celebrated breakup season. The NYC location accepted any ex-related paraphernalia — photos, stuffed animals, love letters or even clothing — in exchange for a burger.
Even more reason not to give your ex back their sweatshirt.
2021: Tyson’s Say it with Nuggets
In Februaries past, you might’ve seen (or eaten from) Chick-fil-A’s annually released heart-shaped nugget trays. But Chick-fil-A isn’t the only nugget emporium to capitalize on the day of love.
In 2021, Tyson held a contest encouraging nugget fans to create a one-of-a-kind chicken nugget bouquet and share an image of it on social media with the hashtags #NuggetBouquetContest and #TysonNuggetsofLove. The grand prize winner received $5,000 for a “staycation,” and 150 additional winners received a bag of limited-edition, heart-shaped nuggets.
The contest promoted the idea that love can be served many different ways — even through sharing a plate of chicken nuggets. Now, that’s a love language we can get behind.
2022: Toblerone’s Love Insurance
Have your chocolate and get it insured, too.
For Valentine’s Day 2022, Toblerone encouraged people to jump into love by giving their situationship a limited-edition chocolate bar sold on the Swiss chocolate company’s website. Those who purchased the bar could register their chocolate for insurance. If the relationship didn’t work out, the buyer could connect with the brand on Instagram to receive a free chocolate voucher.
“No matter how your relationship goes, love is worth it,” said Toblerone. Easy for Toblerone to say when it’s a universally beloved chocolate company, but we’ll take all the encouragement we can get.
2023: Krispy Kreme’s A Sweet Proposal
Krispy Kreme wanted you to say “I dough” to your work spouse.
The U.K. Krispy Kreme branch hopped on the idea of “work husbands” and “work wives” in 2023 by creating a trio of work-themed Valentine’s Day cards with messages like “I Cc You, Baby” and the water cooler-inspired “There’s No One Cooler Than You.”
Along with the cards, the donut chain offered two Valentine’s Day-themed donuts for the price of one to work couples who stopped by a Krispy Kreme store. The brand wanted to celebrate the joyous and authentic relationships that are formed in the office — but we’re not sure we’d feel so joyous if our spouse got a dessert with their “work spouse.”
2024: SweeTARTS’ Situationship Hearts
SweeTARTS knows how to connect with its Gen Z audience: using humor as a coping mechanism.
In honor of this year’s Valentine’s Day, the candy company released a Sweethearts Situationship box. The slogan: “Messages as blurry as your relationship.” These heart candies feature smudged, misprinted versions of typical candy heart slogans. The sweets took social media by storm, and the product sold out well before Valentine’s Day arrived.
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