When textile company Boll and Branch used “What’s better than flowers and chocolates?” as a marketing email subject line, the Society of American Florists reached out— and received an apology from the company within hours. “I’m so sorry about this,” wrote a representative, who noted she has family members who work in the industry. “Our goal and intention was never to impact the flower industry.”

Each year, as the voice of the floral industry, SAF responds to news publications and businesses that choose to promote Valentine’s Day products and gift offerings by disparaging live flowers. SAF contacts the businesses that make these negative claims and requests that they promote products on their own merits. In each message, SAF emphasizes that there are many positive ways to advertise Valentine’s Day offerings ––  companies should focus on the benefits and key selling points of their products, instead of making unnecessary and unfair remarks about flowers.

SAF has recently reached out to:

• Steven Singer Jewelry is advertising a product on its website homepage stating: “Level up from flowers that will wilt and end up in the trash next week. Steven’s famous collection of Gold or Platinum Dipped Roses last forever!”  SAF has also learned that similar negative ads are running on certain SiriusXM radio channels.
• Water Sweets Soap Co. posted an Instagram story with a caption that begins “Forget the typical chocolates, ditch the boring flowers…” to advertise its bath products. 
• Apartment Therapy posted an online editorial article titled: Forget Regular Flowers This Valentine’s Day — These *Dried* Flowers are Everlasting. While emphasizing the benefits of purchasing dried flowers the article states that “….a flower arrangement is the perfect gift— for Galentine’s Day, as well. However, after a few days have passed and the buds are wilting, there’s always that less than romantic motion of tossing past-their-prime flowers in the trash. That’s where dried flower arrangements come in.”

Not all companies SAF contacts agree with SAF’s position. Southern Blooms Co. is running a sponsored ad on Facebook to promote their wooden flower arrangements, which states “Don’t settle for flowers this Valentine’s Day that will die within days….our limited edition WOOD flower arrangements will last for years to come…”.

After SAF reached out, a Southern Blooms Co. representative responded: “The copy of this ad is meant to do exactly as you pointed out in your message, to identify and promote the advantages of wood flowers with the main advantage being that they will not die. We feel that the target audience for our arrangements is different than the target audience for florists who work with real flowers. Even though we are a wood flower business, I, myself, make it a point to support our local florists multiple times per year. Both wood and real flowers have their advantages and disadvantages, and we feel there are plenty of buyers for both product types.”

Members of the floral community can also make a big difference by reaching out directly to local businesses in their communities.

If you choose to respond to negative advertising, here a few tips to write an effective response:

• Be objective, diplomatic and reasonable. Describe why you find the story/advertisement offensive or unfair. Explain that you believe in the effectiveness of stories/advertisements that promote products based on their own merits.
• Don’t sound defensive. That will only make it seem as though the “attack” on flowers was justified.
• Don’t make unreasonable demands. Unless a story actually contains a factual error, don’t demand that it be retracted.
• Suggest a middle-ground approach that the story/advertisement could take in the future. You might point out that instead of the phrase, “Don’t buy flowers,” the message could be, “Flowers are one of many gift choices during…”

If you spot a harmful ad or article about flowers, please forward to edaly@safnow.org.

Elizabeth Daly is the marketing and communications manager for the Society of American Florists.