Had enough of Valentine’s Day yet? Well, we must admit we have, but it seems that this year every brand under the sun is doing its level best to tap in to the, er, excitement.
And, none more so than Specsavers it seems, which has launched a new campaign for the ultimate ‘Relationship Aid’, the most powerful innovation in couples’ connection.
Devised by Golin London, it is running across paid digital, social, radio and print media, earned media and influencers, with media buying by MG OMD and social by Tangerine.
The launch was teased earlier this week by Paul C Brunson, celebrity relationship expert and co-host of Married at First Sight, who ignited widespread speculation when he took to social media teasing a mystery ‘game-changing’ device to bring partners closer than ever… Other relationship influencers joined the intrigue, building anticipation across their channels.
Specsavers also revealed all in a provocatively misdirected film and 60 second radio ad that could easily be mistaken for launching an intimacy product. Complete with a seductive voiceover promising couples will ‘feel closer than ever’ with ‘AI technology’ that ‘enhances the senses’, ‘discreet and designed to be used anywhere’, the ad culminates in a rug pull moment, revealing the device is in fact a state-of-the-art Specsavers Advance 65 hearing aid.
The brand is calling on couples to swap the lavish gifts and grand gestures for hearing checks this Valentine’s, with the activity backed by research of 2,000 UK couples that finds Brits spend a collective £11.3bn every year trying to rekindle the spark, while 67% believe “feeling listened to and truly heard” is the most important way to stay connected. Significantly, among couples where one partner wears a hearing device, 32% report improved physical connection and closeness.
Specsavers brand communications lead Bryony Czujko said: “Hearing loss remains one of the most overlooked health concerns, largely because of the long‑standing stigma that still surrounds it. However, in just three years, we’ve already helped reduce denial by 50%, and every campaign continues to chip away at outdated perceptions.
“This time, through ‘The Relationship Aid’, we’re taking on the biggest stigma of all: the hearing aid. By mixing our bold, signature humour with a smart cultural hijack, we’re reframing hearing tech as something genuinely exciting. This provocative approach is designed to stop the scroll, shift perceptions, and spark a national conversation that desperately needs to happen.”
Golin London chief creative officer Alex Wood added: “The stigma around hearing aids needed to be disrupted. If hearing is key to romantic connection, then they’re not a boring mark of old age – they’re the most exciting couple’s device. Fully committing to this idea created new ways to capture attention and start a more engaging hearing health conversation framed around love, not loss.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, to be fair, they’ve tried hard but “reframing hearing tech as something genuinely exciting”, could be pushing it.
The problem is that the inhouse Specsavers ads are so good that they are a hard act to follow. Still, maybe we’re just too young to appreciate this one…
Decision Marketing Adometer: An ‘oo’er missus’ 7 out of 10
