10 Valentine's Day Ads from The Last Decade That Put Even Cupid to Shame

As promised, we’re back with some of the best Valentine’s Day videos from the last decade. While some of these are romantic and heart-touching, others will leave you with gales of laughter.

So, without any further ado, let’s get started.

1. Field Notes (2012)

Notebook company Field Notes came up with a short but sweet video for its 2012 Valentine’s ad campaign, detailing a husband’s love for his wife. The video chronicled the couple’s journey over their married life of fourteen years. The pages spring to life with charming and funny pop-up pictures in this simple yet effective ad.

The video strikes a great balance between product advertising and story narration without ever letting the viewer feel that the product is forced onto them. Now that’s what we call the ideal mix of marketing and storytelling. Good job, Field Notes!

2. Nestle Thailand (2013)

Nestle Thailand released a cute and funny 2013 Valentine’s Day ad that the audience found unreal and romantic at the same time. Produced for the Thai market, the KitKat commercial shows that if you have a desperate dream, it can come true in the most unimaginable ways.

The ad is a tribute to people who tirelessly strive to achieve the love of their lives. With this sweet ad, the food company drives home the message that if you love someone or something with all your heart, the entire world conspires to bring you two together. This ad is sure to give one-sided lovers some ray of hope.

3. eBay India (2014)

eBay’s 2014 Valentine’s Day ad is a funny take on being single but sends a warm message of self-love. The ad shows a spectacled, not-so-smart man coming to the office on 14th Feb and getting swamped with gifts. This takes everyone at the office by surprise, even the office hottie who’s stunned to see the geek getting more gifts than her.

The surprise breaks at the end when the ad shows the man shopping for himself on eBay and taking advantage of amazing Valentine’s Day deals. With the ad, eBay drives home the significance of self-love and self-appreciation. After all, falling in love with yourself is the beginning of a lifelong romance, isn’t it? Damn, it is, eBay!

4. Ford (2015)

Ford took a slightly different route to the staple Valentine’s promotion with its 2015 Valentine’s Day ad. Taking a step away from emotion and romance, Ford decided to take a few unsuspecting lads on a ride of their life. The ad combined blind dates with fast cars and a beautiful stuntwoman in this speed dating video.

The most special thing about the video was its idea. It was something that nobody else had done before. The dramatically funny video went viral in no time and touched many nerves.

5. Interflora Australia (2016)

Interflora Australia came up with a classic love story for its 2016 Valentine’s ad that featured a beautiful lifelong story of a couple. The ad keeps the viewers hooked right from the beginning where two kids are seen playing together. They eventually age and turn into cute lovebirds.

The ad beautifully captures the transcendence of childhood romance into lifelong love, which is why it resonates with viewers as they either have or wish to have a similar story. But unfortunately, the majority of us fall into the latter category. See fellas, love is a luxury not everyone can have (sigh)!

6. Skittles (2017)

Skittles came out with a hilarious spot for its 2017 Valentine’s campaign. The ad revived the good old romantic cliché of a boy throwing rocks at a girl’s window to draw her attention. Only this time, the rocks were replaced with candies.

Katie, the girl that the boy has a crush on, turns out to be very generous. We are left amused as the candies thrown by the boy are gobbled up by everyone- Katie, her parents, her grandmother, even the thief that breaks into their house, and the watchman who possibly came to catch him. Very creative, Skittles!

7. Jollibee (2018)

Jollibee, like some of the other brands on this list, took a step away from romantic ad campaigns for its 2018 Valentine’s advert and came up with a heart-winning spot. The ad shows a girl who’s greatly disappointed in her love life. From being approached by guys who already have girlfriends to being ghosted by others, she’s seen it all. All this makes her wonder if she will ever come across someone who truly loves her. However, she gradually realizes that she’s always had people around her who love her with all their hearts. And that’s her family!

The ad is quite relatable as it depicts the failures of dating today, which many of us often go through. But it also sends out a positive message at the end, which is to value people who will love you unconditionally.

Watch the video folks, and stop doubting your self-worth!

8. Netflix (2019)

Netflix’s 2019 Valentine’s Day ad is a story of two young men falling in love in the bright and picturesque Mumbai. The two men meet on the Mumbai metro and its love at first sight. They go on dates, attend a costume party dressed as characters from Stranger Things, exchange a kiss, dance in fur coats, and eat noodles out of each other’s bowls.

Everything seems to be going normally until one of them commits the most selfish act one could imagine- watching an episode of Stranger Things without his boyfriend. Watch the video to know how he makes up for it.

The cute ad, while presenting a cute love story, also tends to normalize gay relationships and break stereotypes. The OTT platform really went out of its way to prove that a gay relationship is not a “strange thing”.

9. Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk (2020)

Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk came with a “pop your heart out” ad for its 2020 Valentine’s ad campaign. The short video depicts how far some people can go to make the day special for their partners. The ad nudges you to try to go beyond the usual.

All said and done, I’d do everything to keep my girlfriend from seeing this😥.

10. Focaccia Florist (2021)

Our last video on the list is for those who haven’t found love in their lives but at least have all the mind-blowing food in the world to gorge upon!

Focaccia Florist came up with a brilliant Valentine’s Day ad campaign that helped their cakes stand out. The 1-minute ad takes a dig at people who give flowers to their partners and other token gift ideas.

The advert shows a rather awkward situation where one of the characters from the ad is asked “Why Give Flowers You Can’t Eat”, thereby, showing that it would be much better to give your significant other something sweet, edible, and yummy! Well done, folks.

Wrapping Up

And that was a wrap for our second edition of the best Valentine’s Day ads from the last decade. A well-done Valentine’s Day marketing campaign can help you put your products out there regardless of the industry that you’re a part of. All you need is a bit of imagination and think about what would spark curiosity and interest in your audience.

We shall be back next week with some of the best 2022 Valentine’s Day ad campaigns. Till then, stay tuned to our site, and hope you're enjoying our blogs!