Best Valentine’s Day Marketing Campaigns of 2024
It’s a new year and once again, Valentine’s Day is almost here. Vday is not just a celebration of love but also a way for brands to connect with their audience and customers, and more creative and innovative they can be, the better!
Brands have elevated their game in the last few years, merging heartfelt emotions with cutting-edge technology to capture hearts and clicks during the pre-Valentine shopping season. And considering how people are searching online and consuming digital ads and content, those brands have to work harder than ever. According to Small Biz Trends, 26% of consumers plan to research products and compare prices for Valentine’s Day shopping. And get this: 45% of Americans don’t plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day but may treat themselves.
People love an occasion to shop and spend (whether for themselves or their other half!), which is why every business, from small-scale startups to global giants, is trying their best to etch their marketing message in the hearts of their audience.
Here’s our roundup of the Valentine’s Day campaigns that we loved in 2023 and 2024.
Best Valentine’s Day Campaigns of 2023-2024
Stanley cup goes viral
Is there anyone who’s NOT talking about these cups? From TikTok to paid ad campaigns, they’re everywhere. And Target decided to cash in this year by releasing a limited edition Valentine’s Day Stanley cup, a special way to make a big impression waves on social media and in-store. A viral TikTok video perfectly encapsulates this, showing a wave of eager shoppers dashing towards a towering display of these tumblers in a panic, ignoring signage that clearly states “two per customer” in their desperate attempts to own a Stanley cup.
It seems that more than just mere cups, they’ve become emblems of a love-filled season and mementos of a quirky, collective experience. The remarkable following these tumblers have collected speaks volumes about the spirit of the holiday and its power to turn ordinary items into sought-after gems.
Enrich – Put yourself first
Valentine’s Day traditionally centers on giving gifts to others, but in 2023, the Enrich beauty care brand took a unique approach with its “Put Yourself First” campaign. Designed to encourage individuals to prioritize self-love, it sent special cards to customers and staff with a heartfelt note, gently reminding everyone of the importance of self-love.
Part of the campaign is a thought-provoking video, shot in the style of a social experiment, that documents people listing out everyone they love and not surprisingly, forgetting to include themselves. The brand’s founder explains that love is something we give to other people and often, we don’t remember that we should love ourselves too, which is why the brand sends its patrons a gentle reminder: self-care and self-love are not selfish!
Check out the campaign on Instagram.
Who Gives a Crap toilet paper – Flush your ex!
You wouldn’t normally associate love with toilet paper, but this year, we can’t help expressing how much we adore this unique campaign created by the brand “Who Gives A Crap”. The company is inviting audiences to symbolically sever ties with their former flames by sending in old love letters to be recycled as, yes, you guessed, toilet paper. Not only is this an eco-friendly way to go into a new year, but it’s also helpful to flush those bad memories right down the loo – and we couldn’t love it more!
Sweethearts – Situationships chocolate
Remember Sweethearts, the delicious candy with a pithy message printed on it? While this sweet treat has been around since the 80s, this year, they’re refreshing their look. But what they’re doing is not as clear as their messages. Not clear at all.
This Valentine’s Day, Sweethearts is addressing the complexities of modern dating with a unique offering. For those navigating the ambiguous waters of new relationships, the candy is introducing its exclusive “situationship” boxes, ideal for anyone in the initial, often non-committal stage of dating. Each box contains heart-shaped candies, intentionally designed with indistinct misprints. Sweethearts describes them as containing “charming, unclear phrases and actual mixed signals,” reflecting the experiences of single individuals in the dating scene.
Nike SB Dunk Low “Valentine’s Day” 2024 – The big tease
Nike is no stranger to creating items people simply love to buy. And in the leadup to Valentine’s Day 2024, it worked hard to build buzz for its unique, yet-to-be-released “Valentine’s Day” SB Dunk Low. It’s not the first time Nike SB has released Valentine’s Day-themed sneakers and while its most iconic are said to be the 2020 StrangeLove SB Dunk Low collaboration, we may be getting something even more astounding this year. Tons of sneaker blogs and hundreds of online influencers have been teased with the news of this new release for months now – proving that Nike really knows how to capture people’s hearts.
Cadbury India – The ‘mush’ detector!
What’s the best way to celebrate the day of love? Apparently “do nothing” according to Cadbury India. The brand’s new campaign is aimed at assisting singles in smoothly getting through the love-intense atmosphere as Valentine’s Day approaches, avoiding overly affectionate couples. And to help them do it, they introduced the Mush Detector web app designed to identify areas with high levels of romantic activity, also known as: areas to avoid.
With its AR technology, the Mush Detector can also be used on smartphones. Users simply point their cameras at any location to determine if it’s a ‘mushy’ area. Definitely one of the most original and tech-y takes on Valentine’s Day marketing we’ve seen yet!
Best Valentine’s Day Campaigns of 2022
2022 might be the year that Valentine’s Day finally comes out of the shadow of the pandemic. US retail spending around the day is forecast to hit $24 billion – higher than 2021, but not quite as high as 2020.
Still, there’s a lot to love in the creativity, humor, and beauty of the latest Valentine’s Day campaigns of brands worldwide. From video commercials, to “zines” (AKA mini magazines), and competitions, this year’s roundup of best Valentine’s Day marketing campaigns is a celebration of smart storytelling and omnichannel approaches. Check them out:
Toblerone – Be more thoughtful
Chocolates are one of the most popular go-to gifts on Valentine’s Day, with around $1.8 billion spent on candy just in the US. This ad puts a clever twist on Valentine’s stereotypes, by showing couples giving cringe-worthy and disastrous gifts. We all know that awful feeling of a gifting fail, so the ad is completely relatable. Although the slogan “Be More Thoughtful” comes off sounding a bit preachy, it definitely rings true and inspires us all to do better with our Valentine’s Day gift shopping. How? By buying a Toblerone, of course!
Cadbury 5 Star – Valentine’s Day alibi
Here’s an example of a Valentine’s Day campaign that hits all the right notes, and is incredibly funny too. Indian confectionery brand Cadbury 5 Star is giving singles the best gift ever for Valentine’s Day – a perfect alibi to get away from all the romance of the season. Instead, customers can win a chance to go on a holiday to a rented island, renamed “My Cousin’s Wedding”. So when singles are asked the dreaded question, “What are your plans for Valentine’s Day?”, they can finally answer truthfully: “Traveling to My Cousin’s Wedding!”. Of course, the island will be a haven of single life, with no red color allowed anywhere.To enter the competition, just scan the QR code on any Cadbury 5 Star wrapper. Simple, resonant, humorous, and pure genius!
Fair Trade – Share the love
According to Fair Trade, around 250 billion roses are produced globally for Valentine’s Day. And cocoa is one of the staple ingredients necessary for the massive uptick in demand for chocolate around the holiday of love. But what about the farmers toiling in less-than-ideal conditions to make sure that our appetite for Valentine’s Day gifting is satisfied? This campaign by Fair Trade shifts the focus in a good way, and offers consumers several ways to “share the love” and support growers of flowers and cocoa in the leadup to the day. We especially like the virtual valentine, an online noteboard where people can share messages of love and appreciation to Fair Trade flower and cocoa growers. Kudos!
Manscaped – The right gift
OK, so this Valentine’s Day campaign from men’s grooming brand Manscaped pulls no punches and gets right to the point of the Performance Package 4.0, a ‘peak hygiene’ set. While the product is for men, the commercial is targeted to women who will be the buyers of the Performance Package. We like the no-holds-barred attitude of the commercial and its female lead, and the guys play along with all the right cheeky puns and innuendo. The YouTube video description leads straight to the product page, and the special offer appears as a simple banner at the top. Which just goes to show, you don’t necessarily need to invest in purpose-built landing pages and Valentine’s themed design when you’ve got such a tantalizing commercial to draw customers in.
Gucci – Love story zine
There is so much to love about Gucci’s Valentine’s Day campaign, it’s hard to know where to start! A nod to retro prestige that is completely fitting to the Gucci identity, the brand has released a “zine” titled A Love Story Presented By Gucci, a fairytale-style love story featuring the artistic photographs and creative inspiration of visual artist Ariana Papademetropoulos, and showcasing the Gucci collection throughout. A story not just of love but of Gucci flair, luxury and artistry, the limited edition zine is available as a hard copy, or digital version via a dedicated website. It’s a confident and perfect merging of old-world class and low-tech magazine, with an up-to-date omnichannel approach.
Fashion&Friends – His & Hers
This is a good example of simple, yet very watchable, storytelling. In this cute, short commercial, a couple connives to surprise each other with a gift for Valentine’s Day, and of course, they both end up buying online from Fashion&Friends. Come Valentine’s Day dinner, all dressed up and candles alight, he and she are thrilled to discover they are both getting a Fashion&Friends gift. There’s nothing earth-shattering in this concept, just a story that hooks you in, in just a few seconds. And even when you can see where the plot is headed, you just want to hang around till the end. Nothing ever beats a great love story.
EnAronate Tenerife – Promoting local commerce
The pandemic brought difficult times for many industries, with tourism one of the hardest hit. That’s why it’s wonderful to see the Arona city council in Tenerife making such a creative effort to boost local commerce around Valentine’s Day. The campaign revolves around a commercial celebrating five kinds of love – self love, non-toxic love, egalitarian love without labels, love in the 3rd age, and love of animals and the environment. The Arona council is promoting the campaign on social media channels, and encouraging viewers to spend their Valentine’s Day enjoying local food, shopping, culture and entertainment, with all the quality, service and sustainability offered by local businesses. It’s an original and pro-active campaign to advance the economy and employment, and an inspiring example of what the power of love can do!
Best Valentine’s Day Campaigns of 2021
Love in the pandemic. It’s a tricky situation, especially for marketers!
There has never been a better time to disrupt Valentine’s Day and make a mark on this highly popular holiday that is a powerful revenue driver for so many businesses and brands.
More than ever, marketers are rethinking the meaning behind Valentine’s Day and repackaging the holiday to appeal to all – couples, singles, families, even nature lovers! As you can see from our annual roundup of the best Valentine’s Day marketing campaigns, this year, there is a definite shift to expanded concepts of love besides traditional romance, and novel ways to celebrate the day with clever creative ideas and moving video productions. Get some inspiration for your Valentine’s Day activities with our top selection for 2021:
Niluu – Focus on self-love
This Valentine’s Day, 15% of shoppers are planning to buy a gift for themselves. Self-love is the central focus of niluu, maker of sustainable, eco-friendly, and vegan kimonos and sleep accessories. The socially aware brand chose the theme of “Fall in love with you” for their beautifully produced Valentine’s Day marketing video, depicting a woman going on a sensual date with… herself, at home, in different rooms of the house! And of course, she’s wearing niluu’s beautiful loungewear.
Pandora – Getting real with real people
Authenticity is what today’s consumers crave, and jewelry brand Pandora got real and personal this Valentine’s Day with a clever video ad spot. Real couples were asked what Valentine’s Day means to them, and the result is a brand campaign that once again focuses on the customer, and not the product. Plus, the intimate, real vibe of the video makes it very watchable and relatable.
Etsy – Love and support for small businesses
E-commerce platform Etsy supported their seller community this Valentine’s Day by offering a ready-made graphic for social media posts to promote their Valentine’s Day products on the various social networks. Together with the holiday hashtag #MakeItMeaningful, sellers can draw attention to their Etsy store and drive more Valentine’s Day traffic. It may seem like a small thing, but the Etsy graphic not only grabs audience attention but also helps to create a sense of community and online buzz for Etsy sellers who need that extra support in their Valentine’s Day digital marketing efforts.
Leicester Tigers – Making it easy to spread the love
If customers can’t come to you, come to your customers! During the COVID lockdowns and social distancing, brands and businesses have to find a way to reach customers in new and different ways. The Leicester Tigers football club is making the most of the momentum of Valentine’s Day by offering free UK wide shipping from its shop for the entire weekend before the big day. Don’t get caught up in thinking that every marketing campaign has to be super-sophisticated and original. Sometimes even the simplest move, like offering free shipping, is the best way to make customers happy and get those conversions.
Yowie – Love is family
Valentine’s Day and chocolate go hand in hand, even chocolates that kids love. The Yowie confectionery brand is turning Valentine’s Day into a family-style holiday, with a range of free printable activities and DIY activities that kids and parents can do at home. In addition, the company is offering a $5 discount coupon on its chocolates with the coupon code “5spreadlove”, which can be redeemed on Amazon’s online Yowie store. This is a particularly sensitive and effective campaign, as families struggle at home during COVID lockdowns and social distancing to make holidays special.
WWF – Love it or lose it
Every year, the Valentine’s Day concept is stretched further beyond romance to take in all kinds of meanings and causes. This year, the World Wildlife Federation got in the Valentine’s Day action with an awareness campaign, “Love it or lose it”. The campaign video features a remake of Elvis Presley’s “Love me tender” and calls on everyone to appreciate and take care of our natural surroundings or risk losing it. This campaign is a great example of how Valentine’s Day and other holidays can be used to raise awareness, not just create revenue.
NHS – Go against the grain
In the wake of the pandemic, a grassroots campaign got off the ground in the UK, calling on people to ditch the flowers and cards, and show some true love on Valentine’s Day by donating to the NHS. This initiative reflects the impact that the pandemic has had on consumer sentiment, as people adjust their priorities in challenging times. It also goes to show that you don’t need to be a fancy marketing agency to go against the grain with a cool idea – these days, with the right exposure, anyone can go viral and get attention for a good cause.
Hotels.com – Anti-Valentine’s Day
Hotels.com is getting attention by not getting into the spirit of Valentine’s Day this year. The vacation booking website invited users to visit their V-Day Dumpster Stay web page and write about why their ex deserves a vacation in a dumpster. All entries go into a competition to win a $300 gift card for use at Hotels.com so they can enjoy a vacation with someone for whom they aren’t seeking revenge. It’s the anti-Valentine’s celebration, a fun gag designed to appeal to customers’ less-than-gracious side and get some attention directed towards the brand. Sometimes in marketing, doing the exact opposite can have the most potent effect.
Best Valentine’s Day Campaigns of 2020
Valentine’s Day brand campaigns are definitely no longer just those sickly sweet celebrations of romance. While brands are still focused on themes of love, the best marketing campaigns have a certain edge that draws the customers in – whether it’s celebrating a welcome break up with an ex, encouraging connection with a pet rather than a partner, or exploring diversity of different types of relationships.
This year is expected to be the biggest Valentine’s Day ever, with overall spending forecast to reach $27.4 billion, an increase of over 30% from last year. How are brands worldwide cashing in? What is the best Valentine’s Day marketing strategy we’ve seen in a range of categories? Let’s take a look:
Teleflora – Flowers say it best
There’s no better gift you can possibly give on Valentine’s Day than flowers. That’s the message by Teleflora, the floral wire service, in their series of funny Valentine’s Day video ads showing different love-gift fails. Like a clingy coffee mug that drives the recipient crazy at work. Or an annoying talking teddy bear. According to Teleflora, “Flowers Say It Best”, and the video ads do a great job of convincing the viewers!
KFC and Deliveroo (Singapore) – Love meal combo
In Singapore, couples are declaring their love over fried chicken with a co-marketing campaign by KFC and Deliveroo food delivery company. It’s not the first time the two brands have joined forces for Valentine’s Day to offer couples a little extra love on the special day. This year, with the “Will Delive-roo be my Valentine” campaign, couples can pre-order home delivery of the KFC love meal combo, which includes a delicious chicken dinner, plus a limited edition KFC bucket ring designed and crafted by local jewelry brand Gemnesis. A ring and chicken? It’s the perfect combo for powerful (and tasty) brand recognition!
Coors Light – Adopt a dog instead
Ever heard of “cuffing season”? It’s the cold winter months when singles get together to have someone to cozy up to. And for this year’s Valentine’s Day, Coors Light beer brand is calling for a boycott of cuffing season, and encouraging people to adopt a dog instead! And they just might be onto something. According to the National Retail Federation, total spending for pets on Valentine’s Day was forecast at over $800 million in 2019. In this creative giveaway campaign, Coors Light offers $100 towards dog adoption fees to the first 1000 people to qualify. It’s a great way to brand itself “The Official Beer for Skipping Cuffing Season” while promoting a good cause.
Budweiser, China – Qixi, the Chinese festival of love
Valentine’s Day is not just in February. The Qixi Festival is the Chinese festival of love, celebrated on the 7th day of the 7th month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which means it usually falls sometime in August. For Qixi 2019, the Budweiser beer brand launched a video ad celebrating diversity in love, featuring several couples and their unique relationships. It’s raw, heartfelt, authentic, moving and engaging – everything a native video ad should be. Cheers!
Gü Desserts – Love notes
Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity to indulge in sweets, and the British Gü Desserts brand is taking full advantage. They’ve released a Valentine’s Day campaign called Love Notes, a series of love-themed packaging for selected Gü desserts, each with a love song title adapted to the Gü brand. So, you can buy salted caramel cheesecakes for your loved one, complete with packaging that states “I’m in love with the shape of Gü.” Or perhaps you prefer to gift the berry-flavored shortbread cheesecakes that sing “I can’t take my eyes off of Gü.” Whichever you choose, this smart love-themed packaging gets the message across in a totally brand-immersive way.
Junk King – Dumptruck or lovestruck?
How does the holiday of love tie into junk removal? For Junk King, the answer is obvious! It’s Dumptruck or Lovestruck! The junk removal company is sending bright red dump trucks to several major US cities, where people can dump the junk left behind by their exes for free! But the company is also taking a more positive spin, with a social media competition for couples who are moving in together. They have a chance to win a free dump truck service to get rid of all those things they don’t need after the big lovestruck move. Couples must submit a photo of themselves on Facebook with the hashtag #JKLOVEStruck and tag their local Junk King franchise for the chance to be in the running.
Heavy hearts deserve a junk haul. Whether you’re full of love or loveless, Junk King will win you over this Valentines season. Contact us to see whether the Lovestruck or the Dump Truck will roll up to your local Junk King. pic.twitter.com/13RIMrJqOy
— JUNK KING (@JunkKingCorp) February 9, 2020
Pip & Nut – The love lab
Pop-up stores are a fast-growing marketing tactic, and they are often used for seasonal or holiday marketing campaigns. That’s what nut butter brand Pip & Nut is up to in London. They’re opening a pop-up store over the Valentine’s Day holiday, called the “Love Lab”, where customers can create their own custom blends of nut butter. It’s a great example of an interactive pop-up store experience that drives brand awareness and engagement and enables the brand to get face-to-face with customers. Plus, the company is donating one jar of nut butter to a local food bank for every jar created during the campaign – that’s true marketing love!
Image source: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pip-nut-love-lab-free-entry-tickets-90371257865
El Paso Zoo – Quit bugging me!
Valentine’s Day is not always about love and light and lollypops. El Paso Zoo in Texas is making a memorable mark this year with a truly guerilla (or cockroach…) marketing campaign. For those who recently went through a breakup, well, revenge is a dish best served to a meerkat. The zoo is giving people the opportunity to name a cockroach after their ex, and all the offending creatures will be fed to the meerkats and other animals during a three-day period over Valentine’s Day 2020. Named “Quit Bugging Me”, the anti-Valentine’s Day campaign is a tongue-in-cheek testament to love…gone wrong.
The most important thing is to maintain a sense of humor, and that’s easy to do on Valentine’s Day with parody sites like Amazon Dating (spoiler – it’s fake) or the major faux pas by cell phone carriers in the UK, who unwittingly sent out old Valentine’s Day messages to dozens of people – in November.
But make no mistake. Valentine’s Day marketing is serious business, involving billions of spending dollars. Consumers today are smarter, savvier and better informed than ever before. Traditional Valentine’s Day campaigns are falling by the wayside as brands move towards edgier approaches and tongue-in-cheek love messages.
