Self-Care Is Easier With Flowers, Says 180's Amusing New Ad

Flowers are typically bought to celebrate a special occasion or to beg forgiveness for something gone wrong. But flowers as a regular self-care pick-me-up purchase? Inconceivable!

That Flower Feeling, the consumer brand of floral trade association CalFlowers, hopes to remedy that with a campaign that roasts the countless self-care routines people attempt in an effort to relax. An easier option? Flowers.

“Even before Covid, mental and emotional health was becoming as important as physical health,” says Heather Lewis, strategy director at 180, the agency behind the campaign.

“Millions of Americans are spending more time and money on self care than ever before, regularly searching for products and routines that claim to boost their mood, calm their mind or reset their perspective. From meditating to face masks to more ‘extreme’ trends like goat yoga, coffee enemas and charcoal cleanses, there seems to be nothing too out there for people to try. But self care doesn’t need to be so complicated. It can be as simple as buying yourself some flowers. Because, as scientific studies have shown, flowers can positively affect our mental, emotional and physical health.”

A slapstick 60-second spot follows a woman on a quest to pamper herself. In reality, her calming routines stress her out.

Like the time she put on a face mask and ripped her eyebrows off, made a green smoothie and had green chunks stuck in her teeth or opted for yoga, only to find that it’s oftentimes more of a cardio workout than a relaxing Shavasana. Regarding the latter, sometimes ads hit a little too close to home.

Her routines quickly venture to extremes with a scream therapy session, a portable sauna and an aromatherapy diffuser that catches on fire while she’s in the portable sauna. After some reflection, she discovers flowers and buys a bouquet on the regular.

The campaign is running online, radio (Stitcher, Spotify and Sirius XM), print, social media, bouquet wraps and truck wraps. Any floral related business in the U.S. can use the creative, making it a campaign for the industry as a whole.

“Americans view flowers as a luxury, something you buy for a special occasion and almost always for others,” Lewis tells Muse. “Flowers typically mark celebratory moments, not everyday life. The ambition is to get more Americans enjoying the amazing and undeniable benefits of flowers, more often.”

CREDITS
Client: CalFlowers 
Campaign Title: Flowers. Self Care Made Easy 
Agency: 180  
Agency Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands 
Production: MindsEye, Tango Productions 
Edit House: Work Editorial 
Post Production: Black Kite Studios 
Sound Design and Mix: Stainless Sound