HAPPY (ANTI) VALENTINE'S DAY 2023
Gen Zs do Valentine's Day a little differently.
Love is patient. Love is kind. But sometimes love hurts. With the majority of youth indicating that Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be a purely romantic holiday and terms like #antivalentinesdays garnering more than 26M views on TikTok, more young consumers are now saying they won’t be “celebrating” in the traditional hearts and flowers sense. Though many will still mark the event in some way- either by treating themselves to something special, holding a get-together with friends or even purchasing an “anti-Valentine’s Day” gift. So, in the spirit of anti-valentines day, we’re giving a shout-out to those brands who are putting their own spin on February 14th.
WHO GIVES A CRAP
For those of us who would prefer to ignore the holiday and avoid romantic cliches of pink and red, roses and candy hearts along with an ex or two, toilet paper company Who Gives a Crap, known for donating 50% of its profits to help build toilets and improve sanitation in the developing world, now wants to help unattached people find a way to enjoy Valentine’s Day by allowing them to flush their ex down the toilet. The clever campaign involves turning all those love letters, cards and notes your ex sent you during your relationship into recycled toilet paper. They say it's a win-win as it'll help eradicate any memory they ever happened while being eco-friendly…and let’s admit it, it's funny.
CRY ME A COCKROACH
The San Antonio Zoo in Texas is more than happy to provide another cathartic moment for those dealing with the end of a relationship. Their “Cry Me a Cockroach” fund-raiser allows you to name a cockroach, rodent, or veggie after the person you wish to forget and feed the remains to an animal. As an added gesture to those ex-partners, personalized video messages of said cockroach being fed can be provided with an increased donation.
CADBURY 5 STAR
Our chocolate-loving friends in India have launched a campaign to help singles navigate through love-sick zones and dodge couples this Valentine’s Day. The brand introduced a Mush Detector Web App that detects high mush zones, thus, helping free birds ‘Do Nothing’ in peace. Users can use the AR mode to point their phone cameras at any location to see if there are mushy areas to avoid, which the application detects based on many factors such as real-time purchases of romantic gifts and hotspots such as restaurants, cinemas, and more.