I know there will be aisles of Halloween candy in stores already on September 1. I’ve become accustomed to seeing Christmas decorations around the neighborhood as early as November 1. For some reason, I have been entirely caught off guard with the onslaught of red and pink Valentine’s Day goods that materialized right after this New Year’s. Not that we don’t all need a little extra love! But so far it’s felt more about marketing and selling product than about love, actually. (Sorry, had to do it!) But here’s one blatant sales pitch I fully support: Sweethearts, makers of the quintessential “Be Mine” heart candies, launched a new Situationships Box. For people in atypical, not so clearly defined relationships. All the candies have fuzzy printed messages, with the tagline “Messages as blurry as your relationship.” Genius.
The candy company behind the iconic conversation hearts is launching a limited-edition Valentine’s Day set of boxes for those who are in a “situationship.”
The newly designed release showcases blurry and misprinted heart shaped candies that are intentionally difficult to read — just like some Gen-Z relationships.
“Singles are taking ‘situationships’ to the next level this year, and Sweethearts is here for them,” Evan Brock, vice president of marketing for Spangler, shared in a recent press release.
“The printing on Sweethearts isn’t always perfect. This is our way of embracing those imperfections in a way that taps into pop culture.”
The word “situationship” was a finalist for the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year.
It is defined as “a romantic or sexual relationship that is not considered to be formal or established,” according to the source.
The “Situationship Boxes” became available the morning of Jan. 8 — and are already sold out on the company’s website.
“The brand is encouraging confused singles everywhere to get them while they last and give the gift as blurry as their relationships,” the company said in its recent press release.
Psychologist Susan Albers at the Cleveland Clinic has defined the newly labeled relationship status.
“Situationships are characterized by a lack of obligation or exclusivity, but the real hallmark is a lack of clear boundaries or labels,” Cleveland Clinic stated on its website.
“There are elements of friendship and romance, but they exist without defining the relationship. So, essentially, you have many of the benefits of a traditional relationship without having to make a commitment.”
In 2022, the popular dating website, Tinder, added the term “situationship” to its relationship goal preferences for those on the dating app.
“The undefined and noncommittal situationship continues to evolve as people are less concerned about relationship outcomes and more interested in enjoying the process,” Spangler Candy Company shared based on Tinder data.
The “Situationship Boxes” are filled with candy hearts that share nothing but mixed messages and sweet nothings — literally.
Due to the overwhelming response from fans, the Spangler Candy Company will be making a second drop before Valentine’s Day for those who were not able to grab one this time around.
“The brand is encouraging confused singles everywhere to get them while they last…” This nearly did me in, you guys. But then I watched the full launch video and I was positively HOWLING with laughter. Please treat yourself to a watch and enjoy the voice over recitation of the blurry messages. Just brilliant. It’s as if the company asked themselves, “How would SNL satirize this candy?” and then organized their whole marketing campaign around that. The only part that loses the cool factor is when they bring in the Oxford Dictionary and Tinder to explain ‘situationship.’ Surely the target audience doesn’t need the definition? In any event, of course they sold out immediately — they should be available all year round! The next batch comes out February 1, but those are gonna fly too. For a similar vibe, CB says that Jelly Bellies’ Belly Flops are good, but they can also be hard to find. There’s a metaphor to be made here somewhere on how difficult it is to source imperfect candy.
I ran out for candy canes on Christmas Eve: couldn’t find any because all the holiday display racks had been cleared and restocked for Valentine’s.
Yes it seems to be a recent thing, that all stores immediately return all xmas stuff because
How dare anybody get any discounted xmas stuff!! Its better off in the TRASH!
How cold and cruel things are becoming when a girl cant get her fruitcakes half off….
Heh–Aldi’s is selling VDay chocolates right now. Good stuff–but how does it stay fresh till Fed?
This is some genius marketing – esp the Timothee and Kylie image. LOLz. And yeah the voice over was good.
Very funny!
On the ridiculous creep of holiday marketing in stores, I dislike it but don’t mind too much if it’s limited to the seasonal aisle. And the store still has some current stuff (ie you can still by fans and bug spray in August instead of only space heaters, shovels and Christmas lights)
But when it’s a full on inundation in every department? In the last year I’ve found Home Goods, for example, to become completely unshoppable. I was updating some of my home decor last year and unless I was looking to “celebrate the season” over next month’s holiday, I was SOL there.
Eg new sofa pillows in August or September? Only if you like black, orange, or fall/halloween motifs or can find something not awful in the one picked over clearance pile in between the 4 rows of (fall/halloween themed) baskets and candles
And back to school supplies being gone in favor of Halloween before school even starts!
They are going to have to start manufacturing misprinted hearts. Knew a woman who wanted to start a business making clothes out of recycled old clothes. Had to move to sustainable fabrics pretty quickly because she couldn’t reliably or easily find used materials.
My son wanted to get his GF a Valentine’s Day Stanley-which I laughed repeatedly at, because a) you’re 12 and b) the pricing right now is between $100-$145 depending on where you’re sourcing those. I’m thinking these are a better option.
This goofy story just made me laugh! Nice bit of marketing!