It’s hard to miss Valentine’s Day approaching with nearly every store and gas station selling mass produced teddy bears and chocolate hearts. Even popular games like Fortnite are releasing a new Valentine’s day cosmetic skin and game mode.
But is all of it really necessary?
Out of all the holidays, Valentine’s Day is by far the most profitable for brands due to the simplicity of the redesigns. For candy or cake brands a heart shape doesn’t go out of style unlike a Christmas tree, pumpkin, or turkey design would.
Therefore, brands can mass-produce items with hearts on them. Even after February, they will still sell because they aren’t tied down to the holiday season. Converse dropped a new “Chuck Taylor All Star Valentine’s Day” shoe, and many consumers will justify the purchase, because although it’s a Valentine’s Day release, it’s just a pink shoe at the end of the day. It’s the ultimate money making hack.
Even changing the packaging to a pink shade and advertising it as a limited Valentine edition, like what M&M’s did with their milk chocolate “Cupid’s blend,” is all a brand has to do to sell more of the same exact product they’ve been making and get away with upcharging. It’s almost genius if it weren’t inherently corporate evil.
Social media also has a huge impact on this holiday and how people view relationship standards when it comes to spending.
You see a video someone posted receiving a large bouquet of flowers with their favorite candies, a stuffed animal, a drink and a new designer bag.
That’s so romantic. You think to yourself. Wait, when’s the last time my partner got me a flower bouquet? I mean yeah I got a bunch of other stuff, but not these things this person got.
Not only that, you click the next post by the same person. It shows them out on a nice candlelit dinner with two plates of expensive looking meals and a bottle of fancy wine. You can see they are both dressed to the nines.
This year my partner and I opted for a home cooked dinner in our pjs, we had a lot of fun and the food was amazing but now I’m feeling envious of how these strangers celebrated their Valentine’s Day. You can’t help but think.
The point is that Valentine’s Day was never supposed to be an extravagant romantic evening. It can be, but it’s just meant to be a day dedicated to spending time with loved ones and appreciating their company. It seems like nowadays it’s a competition to see who can spend the most money in the name of love.
Companies and brands cater to specific consumers because they know they will give in when baited with a “limited edition” label even when it’s the same product. They also know they can get away with releasing new items that took minimal effort to design around this holiday.
You trick yourself into thinking you need to buy it because it would make the perfect gift for someone you love, so you budge and give money you earned at your minimum wage job to a billion dollar company just to prove that you love someone.and Valentines Day be
