The Day of Love, that one day when the entire world celebrates love, 14th February….we thought of finding out how and what brands have been doing to make this day even more magical for their customers.
Let’s find out.:
Mumbai Metro, #MetroWeekOfLove #HaveANiceDay, 2019
The metro company chose to play Cupid - it invited riders to tweet messages for their loved ones and tag Mumbai Metro @mummetro with the promise of featuring the messages on @TimesOOH Screens at the stations.
Involving users across the spectrum, an all-inclusive effort - that’s laudable.
ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Per Bande Ache Hai, 2013
Emotional, the ad shows men who are not so expressive about their feelings but are caring, nonetheless. They still fulfill their responsibilities eagerly, and one of them is investing in insurance.
The storyline is good. It also is very Indian, where most men are too engrossed in the daily grind and responsibilities, trying to fit in with the stereotype image and suppress their feelings.
Burger Kings, #LonelyNoMore, 2000
While this ad may be about the love-hate relationship between McDonald’s and Burger King, it does have a point. Showing Ronald McDonald sitting lonely in front of McD outlets, Burger King promised a free Whopper to anyone who sits with the lonely man and takes a picture or two and tags @burgerkingindia.
Smart one from Burger King! Certainly creative and appropriate!
Coca-Cola’s #SlideIntoTheFeeling, 2020
With everyone busy, who has the time to get close to their loved ones? Coke came up with a bright idea by placing a bench-cum-slide (derived from its logo) at different places in the city. As people - lovers, friends, spouses, etc. - sit on the bench, they slide down to sit next to each other, share a coke, click a picture, share a moment, and so on.
An interesting and engaging way to spread the message of ‘share a moment’ without the help of social media. Good one.
Tourism Authority of Thailand, #ThailandOpenAgain, 2021
For many Indian newlyweds, Thailand is the ultimate honeymoon destination. Even for aged couples, Thailand is a good break from the monotony. Celebrating this ethos, Thailand Tourism created a beautiful FB ad in 2021, just when it opened up after Covid. It says
“Celebrate love surrounded by pristine blue waters and blissful beaches.
Celebrate love in the Land of Smiles.
Celebrate love in Thailand!”
The animated work is lovely and goes hand in hand with the message.
WWF, ‘Love it or Lose it,’ 2021
This campaign from WWF is holistic in many ways. The characters in the campaigns are not just humans but animals too. The campaign ran across multiple channels - YouTube, Twitter, FB, the official website (http://www.wwf.org/love), iSpot.tv, and more.
This ad shows the chain of life - the interconnection of man and nature with a male voiceover explaining each step.
This Ad, released later in the year, had the same message showing animals and their kids, men and their little ones with the song ‘Love Me Tender’ playing in the background, sung by K.S. Rhoads.
Valentine’s Day was the perfect setting for WWF to launch its ‘Show Your Love Campaign.’ Love is not just about loving humans but every element of nature or we should be ready to lose it soon.
A synchronized, well-thought-out, well-planned campaign with multiple elements. The clear-cut message and the team effort behind the campaign deserve appreciation. As the icing on the cake, nature lovers could also send Valentine's Day ecards from https://support.worldwildlife.org/site/SPageServer/?pagename=Valentine_Ecards.
British Airways, ‘Go Further to Get Closer,’ 2015
Featuring ordinary people, this ad is very relatable to the average Indian middle-class section. Brands, big or small, can take these small initiatives to fill someone’s life with love, make them smile, realize their dreams, and so on. Users always appreciate small endeavors like these.
Dominos on Tinder, 2015
Dominos chose to swipe right on Tinder, the dating app in 2015, for Valentine’s Day. They connected with almost 2,50,000 users on Tinder and got about 20,00,000 impressions on social media, with Tinder users posting on several platforms, advertising the brand.
One of the first cases of a brand tindering and that too on Valentine’s, receiving free mileage on social media. It was a clever campaign idea that worked in Dominos' favor. That was a smart move by the marketing team.
That’s for the Love Season this time. Looking forward to some beautiful campaigns in 2023 too.