Be Mine: A Brief History of Valentine’s Day Marketing

How did we get from an ancient Roman festival, to a holiday that compels many of us to spend no less than $147 on celebrating it? That story, it turns out, is thousands of years old — but we’ll try to condense it to the roots of Valentine’s Day.

Ancient Rome

The roots of Valentine’s Day are cited by some sources to lie in the ancient Roman festival Lupercalia, which took place annually on February 15 and involved some very primitive forms of courtship and matchmaking.

• It was also ancient Rome that saw the famous execution of a St. Valentine on February 14, around 278 A.D.

A Brief Timeline of Valentine’s Day Marketing

Charles II of Sweden begins communicating with flowers, by assigning a different message to each type.

• In England, Cadbury chocolate company sells the first heart-shaped box of chocolates
• Howland produces sample Valentine’s Day cards and sends them off with her brother to distribute during a sales trip for their father’s company — S.A. Howland & Sons — hoping to earn $200. Instead, he returns with 25X that amount, indicating a much higher-than-expected demand
• The New England Valentine Company moves operations from Howland’s home to a Main Street factory in Worcester, Massachusetts

1880 – 1881 Howland sells the New England Valentine Company to the George C. Whitney Company

The Hershey Chocolate Company is founded, bringing what was previously “a European luxury product” to the U.S.

• Conversation candies become heart-shaped
• American Greetings is founded
• Hallmark produces its first Valentine’s Day card
• De Beers diamond company launches its “A Diamond is Forever” campaign, sending the message that gifting high-end jewelry can be used as an expression of love

Shakespeare (and Chaucer) in Love

Valentine’s Day first became romanticized by classic authors like William Shakespeare in the late 16th century, and Geoffrey Chaucer in the 1300s

• Chaucer’s “The Parliament of Fowls” is one of the first literary references to St. Valentine’s day
• Shakespeare wrote “Sonnet 18” in 1593-1601, comparing love to the seasons
• Hamlet also mentions Saint Valentine’s day in 1599

Be Ours

Valentine’s Day has experienced a transition into pop culture that has shaped the way it is perceived, discussed, and celebrated.

• Sure, it’s often accused of being nothing more than a money-making marketing holiday, but look at these numbers compiled by HISTORY.com to see why that could be.

The 17th Century and Beyond

Valentine’s Day made its way from Europe to the United States around the 1700s, with the establishment of the North American colonies between 1607-1770.

• It became more common in England, where the Industrial Revolution began earlier, leading to the production of “fancy valentines [that] were extremely expensive to import.”
• Esther Howland, an early entrepreneur, believed there could be an American market for these formal, English-style greetings, and created the earliest American Valentine’s Day greeting cards.

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