Relate and Ogilvy Unveil Valentine's Ads Celebrating Great… Communication

Follow-up to their award-winning ‘Let’s Talk the Joy of Later Life Sex’ campaign also revealed

By Creative Salon

14 February 2022

Relationships charity, Relate has unveiled a new campaign for Valentine’s Day promoting great communication.

The series of four poster executions features close-up shots of lips, tongues and fingers with the tagline ‘Gifts Don’t Make Relationships. Conversations do’. The posters will break over the weekend and run nationwide on Valentine’s Day.

Sarah Milsom director of communications and engagement, Relate, said: “The best way to build healthy relationships of all kinds is to share feelings and problems rather than bottle them up or paper over the cracks. Especially now, when the effects of what we’ve all been through in recent times are still coming to the fore. This series of posters reminds people not to underestimate the gift of honest, authentic connection this Valentine’s Day."

Jules Chalkley, Chief ECD, Ogilvy UK, added: “The simple fact is it that many of us need intimacy now more than ever, and communication is the bedrock of healthy and happy relationships. As a society we are obsessed with love and affection, it can be easy to forget that simple authentic conversation is what defines connection, happiness and intensity.”

In addition, Relate and Ogilvy have released a timely tactical ad celebrating sex and intimacy in later years. The poster and film will also go live on Valentine’s Day. They are a follow up to the award-winning 2021 campaign ‘Let’s Talk The Joy of Sex’. The original campaign saw renowned British photographer, Rankin, shoot five older couples and one woman in their most intimate settings and explored everything from long-term love to new adventures, tender intimacy to the more risqué. The posters won countless awards and empowered everyone to think and talk about sex and intimacy as we grow older. The follow-up poster and film is an arresting image that challenges the accepted norms of later life love.

Chalkley added: “We should continue the conversation about the joys of later life sex. The aim of this cheeky ad is to dispel the notion that older people shouldn’t, couldn’t and wouldn’t want to have sex and intimacy, which contribute to mental health, happiness and physical wellbeing. This ad builds on creating a new visual language of love.”

Relate Valentine’s Day Credits

LIPS / FINGER POSTERS

Ogilvy

Chief ECD Jules Chalkley

Creative Rita Riera Pastalle

Head of Design Dave Towers

Deputy Director of Design Luke Ridgway

Art Buyer Jodi Woodhouse-Ward

Senior Producer Sue Streatfield

Senior Producer Heather Hart

Managing Partner Katharine Easteal

Business Director Danny Gilchrist