How brands are bringing the love this Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and like clockwork, brands have again stepped up to showcase a wide array of romantic campaigns, stunts and product launches suitable for every consumer, no matter if they want to spend Feb. 14 expressing their love to their significant other—or spend it breaking up with them. Below, a look at just some of the ideas advertisers have been cooking up to mark the occasion. The best and worst Super Bowl ads Ad Age reviews the Big Game commercials Click here Pizza Hut Have you decided that Valentine’s Day is the perfect occasion to break up with your partner, but don’t have the decency to face them in person? Well, good news: Pizza Hut has you covered. Since Feb. 6—also called “Red Tuesday,” due to a purportedly high number of breakups that happen that day—the pizza chain has been offering customers in New York, Chicago and Miami the chance to score a free Goodbye Pie: one of the Hut’s new sweet and spicy Hot Honey pizzas delivered in a custom heartbreak-themed box, available to be claimed via a custom microsite. It marks Pizza Hut’s first work from its new social agency of record, Mischief. Hendrick’s Gin Ahead of Valentine’s Day this year, Hendrick’s Gin decided to get into the fashion business, partnering with design house Wiederhoeft to create a custom series of “Gintimates”: a scaled-down lingerie line that it’s billing as “the world’s first and only collection of cocktail intimates.” It features the likes of a “Bottle Corset” ($91.34), a sheer top designed to fit a stout Hendrick’s bottle, and a “Pinky Garter” ($15.69) for giving a toast with your little finger held high, among others. The limited-edition items can be purchased online. White Castle A fast food restaurant may not be considered the most romantic setting for a Valentine’s Day date, but if you find yourself craving sliders this Wednesday, don’t overlook White Castle, which crafted an all-new Love Kit for diners nationwide to enjoy a candlelit slider meal at home (as long as they’re OK with that candle being White Castle-scented). Priced at $49 including U.S. shipping, the bundles—which are now sold out—included a dozen of the chain’s signature bite-sized burgers, one of the aforementioned candles, and a selection of “Craventine” holiday cards. Better Better, a climate-focused brand based in Los Angeles, is releasing an intimate new product just in time for Valentine’s Day: Climaxx, a line of vegan, carbon-neutral, sustainably sourced condoms that let users “screw each other instead of the planet.” Officially available for purchase online starting Feb. 14, the product launch is supported by a 30-second anchor spot from agency Spacecraft Earth, which leans on both ’80s skin flick aesthetics and National Institutes of Health data that shows extreme heat can reduce testosterone levels and lower libido. “Do it for the Earth,” the condoms’ double-entendre packaging implores. Hop Wtr Instead of helping to spark new romances this week, alcohol-free beverage brand Hop Wtr wants to stop lovelorn consumers from rekindling toxic old ones—by preventing them from texting their exes. To do so, the brand created the “DNT TXT” lockbox: a smartphone-sized contraption that users can secure their devices with on Valentine’s Day, and then on Feb. 15, they’ll be able to wake up regret-free and retrieve their phones when Hop Wtr sends them a code to open it. Each lockbox also comes with a 12-pack of Hop Wtr’s Ruby Red Grapefruit flavored water. Belairdirect An insurance company is probably not the first type of advertiser that comes to mind when someone thinks “Valentine’s Day,” but this year, Canadian insurer Belairdirect is getting in on the action, releasing an original song and accompanying music video to remind viewers that the sexiest thing they can do this Feb. 14 is drive safely. Dubbed “Safety On My Mind,” the tune is inspired by turn-of-the-millennium R&B, replete with all the stereotypical beats, camerawork and sensual lyrics you’d expect to find in an MTV music video from 2003. The campaign was developed by Canadian ad agency Sid Lee. P.F. Chang’s Nearly 20% of people have experienced a breakup around Valentine’s Day, according to data from dating app Bumble. For glum consumers who find themselves in that unfortunate demographic this month, there is a silver lining: Chinese restaurant chain P.F. Chang’s is offering all newly single patrons a free order of dumplings (emphasis on the dump). All February long, customers who text “CHANGSDUMPLINGS” to (855) 697-6181, along with a screenshot or written recap of their breakup, will receive instructions on how to spin their heartbreak into a free six-piece order of shrimp or pork dumplings. Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here Barilla Back by popular demand after a limited run in 2023, Barilla has resurrected its “Love” pasta at select U.S. grocery stores—but heart-shaped noodles aren’t the only Valentine’s Day offering the company had planned for this year. The romantic pasta’s initial return in January was accompanied by a giveaway of two interlocking diamond rings, known as “The Ring-a-toni,” crafted by jewelry maker Alison Lou, as well as a full menu takeover at Nordstrom Restaurant Group locations in which every pasta dish will be made with Barilla Love. Visit Seattle This Valentine’s Day, Seattle is launching its first new destination campaign in a decade: a love letter to the city encouraging guests to be their authentic selves, whether that’s at a Kraken hockey game or at the city’s 400,000-strong Pride celebration. Set against a backdrop of the city’s iconic Space Needle, waterfront and dozens of other local landmarks and businesses, the campaign is narrated by poet Quenton Baker and filmmaker Matty Brown, with an original score by local DJ Mike Sylvester. The film was developed by Visit Seattle, a private marketing entity whose aim is to promote tourism in and around the Emerald City. Shake Shack Shake Shack wants to be the go-to destination for lovers and friend groups alike on Valentine’s Day by transforming some of its stories in seven U.S. cities into “Love Shacks,” upscale fine dining establishments that will temporarily feature table service, candlelight, real plates and glassware, and two prix fixe menus: a two-person “Swicy Date Night” option for $80 and a four-person “Umami Dinner Party” for $160. The meals are available by reservation only, with a limited number of seatings still available at some locations at the time of writing. DoorDash One-in-four men put off buying a Valentine’s card until just a day or two before the holiday, a retail survey from Advantage Solutions suggests. But to make sure last-minute lovebirds aren’t too late to participate, DoorDash has teamed up with digital design marketplace Minted to provide on-demand, nationwide greeting card delivery via the app’s Flower & Gift Boutique hub. It’s a move the brands hope will bridge a demographic mismatch: most Minted customers are between 19 and 38 years old, while the majority of card buyers fall between 35 and 60 years old, according to the Greeting Card Association. Read more: Behind DoorDash’s Super Bowl giveaway Simply Spiked Simply Beverages’ new line of Spiked Limeade hit store shelves just ahead of Valentine’s Day, and to keep date nights juicy, the company debuted a limited-edition batch of “Pickup Limes”: a product it styles as an “everything-you-need rizz kit” that includes lime-scented candles, a stack of pickup lines and conversation cards, and a free can of Simply Spiked Limeade. The heart-shaped bundles were available online from Feb. 7, but given their holiday-themed price of $2.14 each, they quickly sold out. Sign up for Ad Age newsletters From influencer marketing to agencies, get the latest news and analysis delivered to your inbox Click here

How brands are bringing the love this Valentine’s Day

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