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Industry News -
Negative floral press
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Well, the Valentine's Day flower bashing has begun. In the past few days I've responded to one of the country's largest candy manufacturers, a local magazine in Indiana and once again to the Danbury Mint. We'll be reporting on instances and our response regularly in E-Brief, but here are the latest details.
- M&M/Mars. They may promise to keep your hands clean, but M&Ms is taking a swipe at flowers this Valentine's Day. A TV commercial for the chocolate candies asks, "Can I send [M&Ms] instead of flowers?" And the site's custom-print Web site shows pink and red roses alongside pink and red M&Ms with the headline, "Forget Roses." In a letter faxed the global chief marketing officer of Mars, Inc., the parent company, SAF noted that "consumers choose M&M's for many positive reasons. Therefore making references to flowers to make your products look good seems unnecessary."
- Danbury Mint. The repeat offender's Valentine's Day jewelry catalog contains statements such as: "This Valentine's Day, don't settle for roses ... More precious than a dozen roses ... Roses fade quickly ..." SAF faxed, e-mailed and mailed a letter to the company's president, Peter Maglathlin, to request that the company promote its products on their own merits. SAF has contacted Danbury Mint each year since 2005, and each year the Norwalk, Conn.-based company fails to respond.
Although the negative floral references continue to go unanswered, it's important to let the company know that the floral industry is paying close attention and not giving up. One day, we'll get through to the Danbury Mint.
- Terre Haute Living. SAF responded to an article in the January/February issue of the Indiana magazine. The article "Roses are red, Violets are blue: Really is that the best you can do?" makes disparaging statements about the price and freshness of Valentine's Day roses. In the letter to the magazine's editors, SAF stated: "While rose quality can vary due to so many outlets selling flowers for the holiday, your best bet is a local professional florist. Handling flowers is their business all year long, and they are educated in proper care and handling techniques and temperature management - the key to flower freshness and longevity."
Whenever you hear a negative floral reference, remember that SAF is the voice of the industry and let us know right away. You can contact me directly at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
; (800) 336-4743 or by fax at (703) 836-8705. For more information, visit SAF's Negative Publicity Response Web page at www.safnow.org/negativepublicity.
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