Valentine’s Day may mean balloons, bouquets and chocolates for most couples, but what if the sight of such things make you cringe instead of swoon? Take heart, there are other brands and agencies out there that share your sentiment, whether you’re single, heartbroken or just a plain hater.
Check out these delightfully bitter campaigns and choose the one that’s right for you: whether it’s listening to a Taylor Swift-compiled breakup playlist, watching your ex’s picture get shredded to bits or buying into a brand’s marketing ploy and constructively try to focus on improving yourself.
Take your pick:
McKinney’s #ShredYourEx
This year, ad agency McKinney is offering people a chance to “warm their cold hearts with the healing power of sweet destruction,” by printing and shredding pictures of their exes in a digital fire.
Participants post a picture of their chosen ex to Instagram or Twitter addressed to the handle @ShredYourEx with the hashtag #ShredYourEx. The action itself takes place on ShredYourEx.tv. And it’s all for a good cause: the physical paper shreds from your ex’s picture will then be sent to a local animal shelter to line the cages of puppies and kittens.
McKinney believes the whole process to be cathartic: first through physical ruin with #ShredYourEx, and then feeling better about yourself by imagining the puppies that your wrath is keeping warm. The project is a part of “McKinney’s Ten Percent,” a program that encourages its employees to set aside 10 percent of their time focusing on new applications of creativity and technology.
Taylor Swift’s Breakup Playlist
It’s no secret that several of T-Swizzle’s hits have been inspired by her wounded heart. And it helps that the “Blank Space” hitmaker has also never shied away from interacting with her fans closely.
For example, when a fan poured her heart out on Tumblr after being unexpectedly dumped, Swift went out of her way to offer some support — going as far to compile a breakup playlist for her. While not all fans may have Swift as their BFF, they can listen to these songs when they never, ever, ever, ever, wanna get back together with their exes.
Bakery’s Wreck Valentine’s
This Texas-based agency realizes that Valentine’s Day can truly suck for a lot of people. So it is creating Wreck Valentine’s, a website where you’ll be able to witness the destruction of all the annoying Valentine’s Day staples. A beautiful bouquet of roses, for example, is shredded by a chainsaw, a TV playing the romantic comedy “How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days” gets spray painted and then shoved off a table and a funny little guy dressed like Cupid gets put in a chokehold by a Luchador. This one’s not for the weak hearted.
305 Fitness and Betches Love This
Hate all the couples action on Valentine’s Day, but love a good girls night out? 305 Fitness and Betches Love This have just the thing. You can join them for a wild Valentine’s Day Party, where they ask you to wear your sluttiest outfits and party with them at the “Playbetch Mansion,” aka 305 Fitness in Manhattan. Participants are eligible to win cool clothing, free to gamble and drink unlimited vodka sodas.
We’re saying Fuck Love to Valentine’s Day with an amazing party with @305fitness. JOIN US! https://t.co/t7MTMMyhBM https://t.co/A3Uo3FTrI3
— Betches Love This (@betchesluvthis) February 5, 2015
Omelet’s Okay Cupid
Fed up with unwanted horrible pick-up lines, a few ladies at L.A.-based agency Omelet got creative and launch “Okay, Cupid,” their own answer to the ubiquitous online dating service. The result is a series of Valentine’s Day cards inspired by the less-than-poetic opening lines they’ve received while dating online. The goal: to remind people that sometimes flying solo is better. The Tumblr page has 5,700 followers and counting.
The Recovery Village
You may have bigger problems than a jilted ex. Although a bit self-promotional, the message behind this Vine by The Recovery Village is a good reminder: don’t forget to love yourself.
The Meatball Shop
While most restaurants and coffee shops are going all out to woo ‘em twosomes — we’re talking about you, Starbucks and White Castle — New York’s Meatball Shop has chosen a path less-travelled.
LOVE SUCKS. JELLO SHOTS DON’T. Join us Saturday for $2 Jello Shots at all Shops. Featuring “Hearts A Fire” #SHOTS https://t.co/Tcy2fqqrK2 — The Meatball Shop (@MEATBALLERS) February 10, 2015
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