Brands and the business of love
From mushy love stories to inclusivity to celebration of singlehood brands do everything to be loved on Valentine's Day 2020
“Love is a verb
It ain't a thing
It's not something you own
It's not something you scream.” - John Mayer
Love is more than the pink teddy, heart-shaped Archies card, and the big chocolate bars. I am not saying that these are not important, who will say no to being pampered but love is also about listening and standing firmly holding one’s back. But then we are also human beings and love is irrational, crazy and psychic. Love is unreasonable and MTV India continues to showcase the crazy side of love.
Obviously the video starts with the cliched line but then the continued monologue leaves a smile on your face. Showing that we all have the same irrational problems, irrespective of who we are. Love is universal, irrational and so will it as long as we survive on this planet.
If MTV India celebrated the irrational and universal love problems from the lens of young couples then so did Big Bazaar showcasing older couples. Imagine when you have shared the same roof for more than 20 years you have an encyclopedia of your partner problems.
When I tried wishing my parents on Valentine’s Day my father said that what is there to be happy about this day, I am already old now. In came my mother’s reply - “I made tea for you in the morning, what more do you want.” Big Bazaar celebrating the love weekend showcases similar emotions of love and nagging from an age-old couple’s viewpoint. The storytelling is nothing new but the emotions are timeless. Like my parents fight 2 or 3 times in a day that will scare anybody outside of our family. But my mother will make sure what my father is eating and my father will do the majority of the household work when she is not there.
Love is not only about gifting a necklace or taking out for dinner but doing the dishes when the maid is not there, says someone who hardly did it ;)
Can you define love? I am fascinated by how the meaning of love has evolved for me over the years. Neelesh Mishra recently asked Taapsee Pannu if she has loved someone. She said “Bahut bar kiya hai aur tut ke pata chalta hai ki kya hota hai (I have been in love so many times and you know about it when you are heartbroken)”.
Gender stereotypes and inclusivity
Today love for me is a verb but earlier it was so materialistic and always believed that it is effortless. I don’t come from a family where love is discussed over dinner so all I had Bollywood. No one has done more harm to society than the Hindi Cinema and its stereotype portrayals of love and what is love all about. For instance, the man has to always make the first move and woo the lady. Besides, the man has to be fit, well dressed, and charming. You obviously don’t cut the line if you are a desi and just an average looking guy.
I am happy The Man Company has tried to break the age-old myths of how a man should be and in the same breath, it is also promoting inclusivity. Love is blind, when it happens it just happens irrespective of sex, age, color, and cast.
This isn’t the first time that The Man Company is trying to destroy the stereotypical man. On International Men’s Day, the brand tried decoding the gentleman with the help of Ayushmann Khurrana to deliver its new communication that tried to bust stereotypes (Ayushmann is the brand ambassador and investor in The Man Company.)
This Valentine’s Day inclusivity finds a strong ground and it is refreshing for once to look beyond the boy and girl love stories (to be read as the same Dairy Milk boring love stories.)
In today’s age, what is love without the power of technology? Well an old school guy like me will say that it is lazy but we are also busy so Alexa is the savior. Here is how a real-life couple - renowned fashion designer Suneet Verma and his partner Rahul Arora celebrated their love.
The only brownie point about this ad is that it is a real-life story but was Rahul really surprised. Did he not know that it is an ad campaign?
Okay fine I won’t be sadist anymore and for a similar reason, Tinder India's attempt looked little out of the place even though it showed the other side of inclusivity with a second date hook. But I love rajma chawal so here is the story:
Celebration of single-hood
Valentine is not just about people who are in love, even singles who are hoping the cupid to strike but unfortunately it is taking the time. Brands have come forward to celebrate singlehood and loving oneself is also important. Well, singles can satisfy ourselves with such thoughts.
Polo, Nestle was the first one that decided to cater to the sentiments of singles. The brand tried supporting singles by pushing discounts and customised Valentine products. If that wasn’t enough PepsiCo endorsed the biggest bhai of Bollywood to promote “Swag se Solo”. PepsiCo says that the anthem (54-year-old Salman Khan is dancing with a bunch of young women) is respecting the choice of today’s generation.
I want to know what the marketing team at PepsiCo is smoking. Obviously the marketing team got high by the views while hosting the video on T-Series. Let’s also talk about the money burnt on media?
Similarly, I didn’t find Burger King India trolling McDonald’s interesting. Sure it made the buzz that obviously fizzled out a day later.
Faasos also jumped in supporting the sentiments of single with #SinglesWithBenefits. If Faasos would have proclaimed that it is respecting the choice of today’s generation then it would have made some sense.
This Valentine’s Day the business of love included everything from mushy love to age-old love to inclusivity to the celebration of singlehood. And just when I had thought that it was a wrap, Manforce Condoms had a unique take for the day. The brand is cautioning people, especially couples, about the scary truth of miscreants secretly recording them while they get intimate in public and then sharing the video online.
Love knows no boundary, time and place but safety is far more important today.
Yeah you gotta show, show, show me
Show, show, show me
Show, show, show me
That love is a verb.