SYED KAZIM analyses how Valentine’s Day is being exploited for commercial purposes.
People protest against Valentine’s Day for various reasons, stating that it promotes love outside the framework of marriage, it is against the Indian culture, it leads to a display of love in the public, it restricts the display of love just for a day, it has become more popular than the religious festivals, because love should not be measured by what you buy as it is false approach to love (it is more than cards, chocolates and flowers) and due to the commercialisation of the event. The article would mainly focus on how various industries have used this day to earn profits.
Commercialisation of Valentine’s Day is the direct result of Globalisation. Globalisation brought with itself a close nexus among the world’s different organisations. Post liberalisation, suppose an Indian firm having a business in greeting cards was now directly interacting with a US firm having a business in bouquets; both the firms supported each other’s logistics. Now the overseas department of that US firm is maintained by its Indian counterpart, same was true with the Indian firm. This, all in all broadens the scope of commercialisation of Valentine’s Day. It further heightens the belief of why couldn’t Indians replicate the same success which their counterparts did in the USA.
There are various days which are usually celebrated in India such as Teachers Day, Children’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Boss’s Day, International Women’s Day, World Environment Day, World Heart Day and Valentine’s Day. Among all these celebrations, Valentine’s Day completely stands out because it is grandly promoted and celebrated as well as the fact that this day is linked with love and sex and these two things sell.
In the last 10 years, Valentine’s Day has become increasingly commercialised. TV and magazine ads depict models with perfect bodies and perfect teeth giving each other chocolates, jewellery and back rubs. The message is, “Your love is measured by what you buy.” This is not what love is all about. Love is much more complex than flowers and chocolates. Social psychologists have been studying interpersonal attraction and love for almost four decades, and they still haven’t figured it out completely. What is known, however, is that love relationships are multi-dimensional. Sexual attraction, or what some people call “chemistry” is only one ingredient of a love relationship, and not even the most important one.
Valentine’s Day has turned into another way for companies to get money from the American people. Especially because of the state that our economy is in, many companies aim to financially take advantage of such a holiday. For example, based on history.com, Valentine’s Day is the second most “bought card” holiday behind Christmas. This is an example of how Valentine’s Day is becoming a huge asset to America’s economy. People are encouraging this perpetual cycle by partaking in spending sprees.
For instance, in 2010 based on the society of American florists, an estimated 198 million roses were bought merely for Valentine’s Day holiday. That means that based on America’s current population, more than 60% of us purchased roses (although those who purchased likely bought multiple). The commercial aspect of the holiday is something that will never go away. This is because this aspect is bringing billions of dollars into America’s economy. In all, based on statisticbrain.com, $13.19 billion was spent on Valentine’s Day in 2013. This is an overwhelming amount which shows how commercialised this holiday has become.
According to the US Greeting Card Association, about 1 billion Valentine’s cards are sent throughout the world each year. Thanks to the huge exploitation of Valentine’s commercial possibilities, especially in the US. Even a staid old newspaper such as the New York Times runs dozens of articles about what to do, what to buy, what to eat and how to behave on Valentine’s Day. And Indians are the best imitators of the west; they also try to use similar methods and strategies in their country to earn profits.
One article in the New York Times headlined, “A Viagra alternative to serve by candle light”, was about foods with aphrodisiac qualities (a substance which increases sexual desire when consumed) that might help “to bring Valentine’s Day dinner to a satisfying conclusion”. It cited earnest scientific research to support its findings, which were not on the whole encouraging. Chocolate, for example, would have an aphrodisiac effect only on someone who ate 25 lb of it at one sitting; and while the smell of doughnuts could heighten a man’s sexual response, it would only achieve this if combined with the smell of liquorice. Thus, the day focused on associating the day with sex.
Another big problem with Valentine’s Day is that it gives a wrong message of love during its process of commercialisation. It communicates that relationships depend on wealth and physical attractiveness. But a recent study of middle aged college graduates indicated that good looking people, on average, were no more satisfied with their marriages or with their lives, than were plainer people.
Television advertisements are a very significant tool to change the way people think. Today’s ads sell ideas more than the product. Many companies in India have used this opportunity to exploit the customers on the occasion of Valentine’s Day. For example, an advertisement by eBay where an employee goes to his office and realises that it is 14 February and starts ordering products online through eBay, and the advertisement ends with a message asking the viewers to shop on eBay as it is all about love ourselves through which the world can envy. The company used the opportunity to promote consumerism.
Another advertisement by Lenovo shows Ranbir Kapoor gifting three girls with a Lenovo Tablet and flirting with them through online chatting and ultimately gets caught by another girl who enters his house. The company used this opportunity not only to promote their product but also promoted flirting and promoted people to have relationships with more than one girl at a time. Another advertisement by Vodafone seems to define what is love, flooding the girl with lots of letters, following her everywhere, looking perfect for each other and ultimately giving a gift.
The Bollywood film industry which is the pioneer in promoting love and sex cannot be left behind in this regard as well. It has used this opportunity before or after 14 February to release movies which showcase love and sex. In the year 2012, the film Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu was released on 9 February and Valentine’s Night was released on 10 February 2012. In the year 2013, Murder 3 and Jayantabhai Ki Luv Story was released on 15 February. In the year 2014, Gunday was released on 14 February and Shaadi Ke Side Effects was released on 28 February. In 2015, Roy is scheduled to be release on 13 February and Badlapur on 20 February. The similarity between all these movies is that they all feature a love affair.
The worst part of Valentine’s Day is that people celebrate the day without knowing about its origin, without knowing that it’s a commercialisation strategy, without knowing its consequence and eventually getting carried away with what they see. Truly, man is very greedy; he leaves no opportunity to earn profit, no matter what means he adopts. As an advertisement read during the month of February, “Diamonds are Forever”, actually they are not forever. They can chip, shatter and even burn to ashes. But love can be forever. And one way to make love last forever is to show it every day, not just on Valentine’s Day. Love is not a one day affair but one needs to show love and consideration to one’s partner on the other 364 days in the year as well.