Ah, love it in the air. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it’s time to don your rose-coloured glasses and look at your product in a more… romantic light. Though it feels like you’ve probably seen the same red and pink ad everywhere, some brands really put a little something extra into the mix when planning this annual Valentine’s Day adverts.
Here are just a few Valentine’s Day ads we’ve fallen in love with over the years!
Doritos Ketchup-Flavoured Rose Bouquets
Let’s start with something simple, roses. In 2016, Doritos Canada aimed to help reverse Valentine’s Day gender role expectations by introducing ketchup-flavoured Dorito rose bouquets in this crafty, very limited, Valentine’s Day campaign.
Though this sweet and salt gift was only available in Canada– specifically Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver–the bouquets sold out not once but twice! It even caused Doritos to create a DIY guide on their website so people could buy the supplies and make their own ketchup-flavoured Dorito bouquet. Learn how to make your Doritos Bouquet here.
This campaign may have seemed a little ridiculous to some, it blew up and generated millions of video views and over 56 million earned impressions! In 2018, Doritos built on the campaign by introducing the tagline “The Better Way to Boldly Declare Your Love.”
Wingstop’s Wingtastic Bouquets, WING LUV Hotline and More!
In 2018, Wingstop released a similar campaign but with a little something extra when they introduced their new wing bouquets and a special toll-free WING LUV hotline to help people spice things up for Valentine’s Day.
Those who called the 1-844-WING-LUV hotline could select from a number of options, including:
- Press 0 to get more information about pre-ordering the wing luv kit that includes holiday cards, a heart-shaped box, a gift card for Wingstop, and everything you need to create your wing bouquet (skewers, decorative cellophane, tissue paper, ribbon and instructions.)
- Press 1 to listen to Valentine’s night pro tips.
- Press 2 for a vocal warm-up routine.
- Press 3 for wing presentation advice (relating to Wing bouquet).
- Press 4 for exclusive access to a Valentine’s mixtape.
- Press 5 to listen to a hotline rep talk saucy to you for a while.
And the cherry on top: Wingstop offered free shipping on kits from Feb 12th – Feb 14th. To announce their new wing kits and LUV hotline, Wingstop posted multiple 15-second, saxophone music heavy videos, wreaking of 90’s nostalgia as rose petals fall onto chicken wings.
Like Doritos, Wingstop sold out multiple times and even opted for releasing the DIY instructions on their website, making it a wildly popular campaign. Want to make your own wing bouquet? You can find the instructions here
Dunkin’ Donuts Sweet, Sweet Love Donuts
From salty to sweet, in 2015, Dunkin’ Donuts stepped up their Valentine’s Day game by introducing a new, limited-time drink and two new donuts. The drink was simply their iced coffee sprinkled with red, white and pink heart-shaped candy bits; while the donuts were two of their smash hits (the Brownie Batter and the Cookie Dough) but reshaped into a heart <3
But they didn’t stop there, to encourage engagement, they enticed their audience with a contest where those who posted a picture and used #IceDDCoffeeContest were entered for a chance to win a $100 gift card and travel.
These limited seasonal donuts were such a hit, Dunkin Donuts brought them back again in 2019, and even introduced new flavours and sprinkles, including Boston Kreme and Jelly.
In addition, Dunkin Donuts travelled to Las Vegas to take over a wedding chapel and gave Dunkin’ bouquets to the first 100 couples that got married and even had their own wedding officiant
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Year over year, Dunkin Donuts has continued to expand their Valentine’s Day menu and in 2019 introduced a number of new latte flavours and even posted a video about how to make your own Valentine’s Day donut bouquet.
“Adults Meal” – Burger King
Burger King has never been shy about picking on its competition and, in 2017, their Valentine’s Day campaign was no different when they introduced the “Adult Meal” alternative. The ad seemed to hint at McDonald’s as the video features a “kids” meal” McDonalds-esque shaped box, stating kids meals are for kids and Burger King is for grown-ups with their new after-hours Adult Meal, which included an adult toy.
Though the campaign was quite risque for tv advertising, the adult nature and subtle pokes at their competition made this one memorable and quite popular.
Uber Valentine’s Day Offers
In 2013, Uber made being the romantic type a little easier for couples when they partnered up with Rose Shop. The idea, for $100 you would receive on-demand delivery, a personalized Valentine’s card and a bouquet of roses for your sweetie.
To top it all off, they also held a contest where participants could win two additional $50 gift cards, they also held a contest where participants could win a one night stay in Aloft Minneapolis hotel, two $50 gift cards, a couples cooking class, two theatre tickets, and a dinner-for-two gift certificate.
Terminix and chocolate-covered insects
One of the more unique Valentine’s Day marketing ideas came from Terminix, a pest control company, in 2018. With the main focus aimed at increasing awareness about infestation issues and how they can help, they ran a contest and ended up gifting the winners a heart-shaped box of… chocolate-covered crickets.
Their secondary goal, to “spread the love bug” of course.
And just like that, Valentine’s Day ads seem a little more appealing! If you’re a company or brand that invests in marketing this time of year, we understand just how tricky it can be to turn heads in such a saturated market. Get ahead next year, contact adHOME Creative to start planning your next unique campaign.