Several brands tapped into the zeitgeisty focus on ‘situationships’ – a ‘friends with benefits’ type of non-committal relationship, which intel from Tinder reveals is on the rise (although in parallel to the converse desire for a long-term relationship – see Key Stats).

Leveraging TikTok and Instagram to promote her Savage x Fenty lingerie line for this Valentine’s Day, Rihanna’s ‘Savage Confessions’ furthers the brand’s body- and sex-positive DNA with a series of posts where she (occasionally interspersed with anonymous guests) responds to fans’ questions about her love life, including her preferred ‘love languages’.

Also cultivating comms of a semi-confessional nature is British beauty brand Lottie London, which has a history of transcending generic beauty marketing scripts in favour of a more grassroots activist stance (see its Trans Beauty TikTok Push in our International Women’s Day 2023 Brief). It’s using this Valentine’s as a springboard for its ‘Love YOU a Lottie’ campaign – specifically, the launch of its Gen Z-centric ‘agony aunt’-style podcast.

Also riffing on raunchiness and plugging fully into the fan fervour that’s an increasingly important imperative for brands in 2024 (see Fan-Tastic Trading in our Look Ahead) is British company Thortful, which sells greetings cards designed by independent creators worldwide.

Leveraging Valentine’s Day to raise awareness of the issues but also (just as importantly) the appetites of older women, iconic Japanese-American supermodel Marie Helvin – now 71 years old – has partnered with British lingerie brand Bluebella for an empowering Valentine’s campaign after undergoing a mastectomy in 2023.

Taking sports branding and stars where they very rarely go, NY-based brand Contact Sports – which blends retro preppy apparel with sex toys and accessories (slogan: “Curated sporting goods for the oldest sport in the world”) – has launched a humorously subversive campaign highlighting the opportunity to rebrand the pleasure sector.

Illustrating the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to support personal expression – and tapping into the fact that 81% of Americans are already open to AI providing personalised communications (Agility PR Solutions, 2022) – US song generation platform Suno AI (created by a “team of musicians and AI experts”) allows people to “make great music” without any instruments or prior skill.