10 Valentine’s Day Ads to Fall in Love With
Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is one of the most celebrated holidays around the world. The popularity of this yearly tradition has encouraged countless brands across all industries to jump on the Valentine’s Day ad bandwagon—and for good reason.
Today, this world-famous holiday is a multi-channel marketing jackpot, and it’s worth some serious cash. According to Statista, 2023 Valentine’s Day spending is expected to reach nearly 26 billion dollars in the US alone.
But what makes Valentine’s Day advertising great? How can you develop video marketing ideas to keep your brand top of mind among your customers?
If you need some inspiration to create memorable commercials this season, take a walk down memory lane with us. You might even pick up something to apply to your own campaigns.
Learn more: Social Media Video Ad Specs & Placements Guide
Match.com – Match Made in Hell (2020)
When done right, taking a current event and using it creatively is a highly effective way to promote your brand. In this case, the dating platform Match.com took the global situation of 2020 and gave it a humorous spin. Ideas like this give the audience the feel of being in on the joke, which, in turn, builds a solid bond with the brand.
Super fun fact: this ad was created by the team at Maximum Effort, the Ryan Reynolds-led agency that was acquired by MNTN in 2021 which makes them partners-in-arms with us here at QuickFrame by MNTN!
OpenTable – Valentine’s Countdown (2020)
Selling an online booking service is as straightforward as it gets. Yet, OpenTable came up with a creative idea to advertise their platform during such a busy date for the food service industry.
This clever countdown series features 14 witty ads, each of which takes the customer through multiple scenarios, only to find that making a restaurant reservation is the best solution during this holiday. It conveys a clear message: if you want to successfully celebrate Valentine’s Day, you need to book through OpenTable—simple as that.
AdoreMe – What Do Women Really Want for Valentine’s Day (2020)
Many Valentine’s Day video ads geared toward women are, well, pretty much the same. They tend to gravitate around the fact that women wait a whole year to get chocolates, flowers, stuffed animals, or any other V-Day clichè from their significant others.
Yeah, right. *Cue Flowers by Miley Cyrus*
This brutally honest piece by AdoreMe takes a different route. The result: an amusing piece your target audience can identify with.
Ryanair – #EscapeTheNonsense this Valentine’s Day (2019)
Valentine’s Day isn’t exactly ideal for the main character in this Ryanair ad. But, they’ve got great news: you don’t have to stick around for it.
By focusing on a single audience, Ryanair is taking this opportunity to connect with people who might typically feel left out of typical Valentine’s Day advertising.
Ad Council – Love Has No Labels (2015)
While not intentionally crafted as a Valentine’s Day campaign, this moving diversity and inclusion ad quickly became an all-time classic. Launched in 2015, this video has collected over 60 million views on YouTube—and counting.
The point of this video advertising masterpiece was to promote an open dialogue about our deep-rooted biases as a society, intended to modify how we perceive the world while celebrating love.
Serta — Call Next Time (2018)
Featuring some fan-favorite characters and effective product marketing, this animated ad is a fun take on a Valentine’s Day commercial. This ad from Serta steers away from typical Valentine’s Day content and opts for humor instead.
After learning someone has replaced them with a Serta mattress (again!), the sheep head over to convince them to switch back. After encountering some holiday-related activities, the sheep decide to call ahead next time.
Vodafone – The Kiss (2013)
Sometimes an ad is not all about hard-selling a product or service. This Vodafone ad is a perfect example of how, on some occasions, you just need a solid concept that captures a particular emotion and resonates with your audience.
In this case, the telecommunications company created a parallel between their unlimited talk and text plan and love. The tagline is so powerful that the ad didn’t need to use additional words.
Field Notes – Red Blooded (2012)
You don’t always need a huge budget to make effective ads—and this video is the perfect example of that!
More than selling a notebook, this Field Notes video is adorable enough to make anyone’s heart melt, while clearly communicating a simple idea that customers could replicate. This ad works because it tells a story customers can relate to or aspire to while offering inspiration for the hopeless romantics in the audience.
Disney+ – Valentine’s Day (2020)
Compilation videos never go out of style! This Disney+ ad features some of the most popular moments of love within the platform’s content, from classic cartoons to modern movies.
While this ad is focused on highlighting love for Valentine’s Day, they also use this as an opportunity to promote the wide variety of content on the platform.
Hallmark – One Card, Many Backstories (2016)
Hallmark’s One Card, Many Backstories campaign was crafted to highlight the beauty of backstories from a handful of couples.
While there is a full video production comprised of moments from each of the interviews, Hallmark also split each interview into an individual video, allowing each couple to get their own chance to spotlight their love—effectively using the post-production process.
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