Celebrated on February 14, each year and across continents, Valentine’s Day has become a sweet spot for brands to bolster their connection with the younger audiences via including romanticism and coupl-y references in their communications.
However, what is astonishingly different this time is that in 2024, brands have made sure to make their marketing campaigns for this Valentine’s Day more inclusive and relatable with the majority audience encompassing singles, third wheelers and the non-GenZs.
That being said, not all brands have shifted gears to celebrating ‘Me-day’ this February 14. Because what fun would Valentine’s Day be if there’s no mush about ‘We-Day’!
Here is a list of some of the moment marketing campaigns for Valentine’s Day that caught our attention:
Swiggy’s Table for 2
Conceptualized by Talented.Agency, Swiggy’s Valentine’s Day campaign titled ‘Table For 2’ is a UI-based film which showcases the story of two 60-something empty nesters who find their love and way back to each other, but with a little help from Swiggy. In the world of right swipes and ghosting, this film aims to focus on an old school love that has a track record of being together for over 40 years.
Interestingly enough, the campaign ‘Table For 2’ begins with the 60-something year old father asking his son, Anurag who played the lead character in its earlier ‘Wrong Address’ campaign, as to what is the need of installing Swiggy on his phone. To which the son responds by saying that it is needed because he would not be able to place orders each day for America.
It is post this that the father ends up ordering a huge list of items for his son as he shifts to another country and once the son onboards a flight, the mother becomes sad and nostalgic. It is post this, that in order to make her happy once again, the father decides to order her favorite Kulfi, followed by regular use items from Swiggy as they turn kids once again and begin reliving their love journey, but with the ease brought in by Swiggy.
Big Basket’s Saadgi
Written and Directed by Dhruv Sachdeva, Founder and CCO, Humour Me, Big Basket’s brand campaign for Valentine’s day depicts the story of a couple who even though growing old together, retain certain simplistic things which almost become like a routine to them.
Each day the wife wakes her husband with a kiss and cup of tea, after which the two have their breakfast together. This is then followed by the husband watering the growing plants which the duo treats as their child and him lifting her up in his arms after mopping the floor.
But even with the duo aging with each passing year, what stays intact is their love and habits, until one day when the wife passes away and the husband is left with nothing but the habits and routine they made together and a couple post-its that the wife had left for him so that he doesn’t forget anything.
Ajio’s #VdayNahiMeDay
Targeting its communication to singles and focusing on why individuals should give more emphasis to self love and self care, Ajio has come up with an ad campaign titled #VdayNahiMeDay.
Created by YounGun, the campaign opens with Ajio’s Rizz doctor giving out statistics of how a certain proportion of the youth has never been called baby, have never received a gift on Valentine’s Day or suffer from situationship every day. As a result, what he provides as a remedy for this ailment is a blue-coloured ‘drip potion’.
Post consuming this solution, the same youth who had been agitated for being single transformed and began checking their Fits as opposed to DMs and focus on Shoes rather than relationships amongst others.
Overall, the campaign encourages singles to turn V-day into Me-day and celebrate themselves through fashion.
Kicky and Perky’s Love Collection
Having announced its association with Mandira Bedi for the launch of Kicky and Perky’s Valentine Special ‘Love Collection’ which aims to inspire the essence of self-admiration and empowerment, the brand has come up with a 60-second narrative wherein Bedi invites every individual to embark on a journey of self-love and empowerment this Valentine’s Day.
Titled ‘Self-Love with Kicky & Perky,’ the film highlights Bedi as a figure synonymous with resilience, empowerment, and the transformative power of self-love and therefore depicts her challenging the conventional narrative of Valentine’s Day as a celebration exclusive to couples.
redBus’ Three Se Ho Jao Free
Picking on the insight of how there are many individuals who get caught up in third wheeling between couples, redBus has come up with a campaign that showcases why one needs to free themselves from the clutches of three-wheeling and go on solo trips rather than accompany their couple friends.
The campaign opens up with the protagonist ranting about how number three follows him everywhere and in everything that he does. Upon noticing that he is seated beside a male who is also coincidentally alone, he questions him with excitement as to whether he’s on a single trip. However, that guy too, like him, had boarded the bus with his couple friends.
The film then ends up with a CTA to book a trip for one’s own self and get free from the number Three.
Duroflex’s #CelebratingHealthyRelationships
The campaign titled Celebrating Healthy Relationships showcases a couple busy scrolling on their own phones, until one of the partners realizes that even though they have been sitting together for quite some time, they have rarely spent a meaningful moment with each other. It is post this that the protagonist sparks a conversation about how his day went and asks his partner to keep her phone down. And just then, a warm conversation ensues between them, making it a beautiful moment.
Via this campaign, Duroflex encourages couples to unplug and rediscover the joy of genuine connection despite the modern ‘screen’ age. The ad campaign also points out the subtle irony of how people are growing distant due to digital distractions even though there is an unprecedented connectivity in the world today.
