Anti-Valentine's Day

In a basic Google search 1,900,000 links come up for searching "Anti-Valentine's Day." In one of the articles written regarding the anti-holiday is quoted as saying, "One of the several online anti-Valentine's Day groups, with over 1,900 members, even has an 'official anti-Valentine's Day poem'. The anthem starts with, "Hearts and roses and kisses galore...What the hell is all that s**t for? People get mushy and start acting queer. It is definitely the most annoying day of the year". The group makes repeated suggestions to replace 'Valentine' with vodka."

It has come to my attention over the past few years that there is a strong anti-valentine's day movement. This week the student body at Notre Dame received an invitation to Legends, the on-campus bar for a Singles Valentine's Day event, which is in effect an Anti-Valentine's Day celebration. There are websites dedicated to the "How to" of throwing an Anti Valentine's Day party.

This phoneme is interesting as Valentine's Day is the traditional day where lovers give each other tokens of their love. However, consumers have taken the traditional meaning and adapted it to their lifestyles. With Valentine's Day comes the celebration of love, and for those without a significant other, it has become a day to either celebrate one's single hood (Anti Valentine's Day) or celebrate friendships.

As we've learned that "marketers can never only do one thing," it is important to note that there is the potential for the anti version of a product, concept etc. The anti version can be a case of more marketing, as in the case of Valentine's Day. However, for the brand of Valentine's Day it is important to understand how consumers are transforming the holiday. Such role reversal is vital to the long term success of the brand. Companies and holidays alike must evolve to be relevant to the changing needs of consumers to stay alive.