Love is in the air with Valentines Day coming up quick but sometimes finding the perfect gift is so hard but this year it’s being made much easier. Have you ever had an ex that gets on your last nerve? One that you somewhat despise in the nicest way possible. The El Paso Zoo ran an advertisement last week that has since gone viral that gives the perfect give for each of our special exes in our lives.
This is an example of an extremely successful advertising campaign that used its social media platform to gain awareness of it. The zoo posted it and got over 7,000 shares within a few days. People commented on it and tagged their friends who also shared it and tagged more friends. The advertisement displays cockroaches and hearts and says that if you pay a certain amount of money they will name a cockroach after your ex then let a meerkat “devour” it. Oh, also did I mention they will be broadcasting the entire thing via Facebook Live? The campaign has been so successful that they had to stop taking names. Ad Age even sent out information on it in their weekly email calling it, “Cockroaches vs. red roses”. I think the reason this advertisement was so successful is that you don’t have to be in “love” to celebrate this Valentines idea. In fact, you can be extremely bitter towards love and still participate. People are tired of the typical roses, chocolate, and cards. Having an edge on advertisement and being new and original is really putting new ideas on top of old, basic ones. I also think this form of advertisement is so interesting because it did not cost the El Paso Zoo anything. I believe modern advertisement is moving more towards this way because social media is so huge for our generation.
Worth, Dallas-Fort, and Nbc. “Zoo Receives ‘Overwhelming’ Response to Cockroach Promotion.” NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, 11 Feb. 2019, http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/Forget-Chocolate-Name-a-Roach-for-Your-Ex-Lover-505565471.html.
Lewis, Sophie. “This Zoo Will Name a Cockroach after Your Ex, Then Feed It to a Meerkat on Valentine’s Day.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 8 Feb. 2019, http://www.cbsnews.com/news/el-paso-zoo-name-a-cockroach-after-your-ex-feed-to-meerkat-valentines-day-feb-14/.
JMC 367 Spring 2019 Blog 
This is such a clever way for a brand to celebrate Valentine’s Day or rather an “un”-Valentine’s Day. The best thing about this is that they took it to social media. It created a “buzz” (if you’ll allow the pun) among social media users and they effectively created social engagement.
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I think that this is so interesting and it allows people to participate in valentines day in a different way. While it seems petty, I think it is entertaining for people who participate. I also love how it was so successful. I am sure the Zoo was shocked by the amount of people who participated. I think that this is a great idea, and a fun way for people to celebrate valentine’s day. I also think it is cool that it did not cost them any money. People were entertained and it did not cost them any money. This needs to be something that happens more often.
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This is the complete opposite of what I think of on Valentine’s but is perfect for people that have been jilted. Its not all chocolate and roses this Valentines Day. I found myself thinking of whose name I would want to put even if it was just for a joke. This ad is probably one of the best examples of engagement I’ve seen.
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