Hallmark’s new Valentine’s Day ad features IRL same-sex couple, and it’s the sweetest
Hallmark has an endless array of cards for every occasion: happy occasions, sad occasions, fun occasions and occasions that aren’t even occasions. Valentine’s Day is one of those occasions, and it’s no surprise that, according to Hallmark, February 14th is the second most popular day to give a card (behind Christmas). Over 151 million Valentine’s Day cards are bought each year, which means a lot of people love a lot of people.
But how sentimental can a card actually be if all you’re doing is signing your name to someone else’s words? That’s a question that Hallmark is exploring with their new Valentine’s Day campaign called Put your Heart to Paper.
Hallmark separately interviewed Eugenia and Corinna, a real lesbian couple who has been together for two years, about what they love about each other.
They were asked to describe their love without using the word “love” (and they didn’t even have access to a thesaurus) — and their answers were sweet and genuine. The couple was then brought together to watch a tape of each other’s interview, and it really is the sweetest. They said things about each other that they admitted they don’t ever say TO each other.
Hallmark’s purpose with this ad is obviously to get us to buy cards for the people we love, but also to get us to open up and add feelings to the cards — because feelings are what really matter.
I may be biased, because I’m a woman getting married to a woman in two months (so soon!!!), so anytime I see something in the media about a healthy lesbian relationship, I’m naturally drawn to the sweetness of it. But the truth is, I don’t think this ad has anything to do with being gay. The featured couple being lesbians is background to their love for each other, and that really is the most beautiful part. They are two people in love who just happen to both be women. Love isn’t about gender — it’s about love (and Hallmark cards).
Well done, Hallmark.
