Teleflora Ad Poops on Romance

I had no idea that anyone delivered flowers in a box!

Hm. I was all ready to be offended at this, like the recent Lasik Plus commercial that said wearing glasses was unattractive. But when I watched the commercial, it seemed pretty clear the flowers were supposed to be 'badguy flowers' that sent a wrong message because they came in a box. The commercial was trying to say that Teleflora flowers wouldn't say bad things like their competitors flowers. I have no idea why coming in a box would be a problem, but I can see that it would have been more impressive had they come in a pretty vase. So, I don't think the commercial was successful, but it definitely seems like they didn't intend to insult romance novel readers, cat owners, or women in general.

I am not offended. The idea is that bad flowers are insulting, so the flowers were being insulting. shrug.

It kind of cracked me up. But I'm weird that way.

Now, if I actually received those flowers.... well... there's a landfill with Jersey Guy's name all over it.

Insult comic flowers. Kinda funny. Big whoop.

Everyone knows Tulips are nasty SOB's. It was a stupid commercial but I wasn't insulted by it. and i did like the end bit where the geek starts to say he wants to see her naked. that was geeky cute.

Every person, young or old, male or female, at our (packed) Super Bowl party laughed their respective behinds off at that commercial. It did make the point that, really, send those flowers in a vase. I don't think it was dumping on romance, it was dumping on sending anything but the best.

It takes a lot to offend me and this commercial did. Of course, the chubby coworker had to exclaim that she *never* gets flowers. (Rolls eyes.) And I didn't find the insults hurled by the flowers very witty either. I get that the commercial is about the message behind cheapo flowers but there are much better ways of getting that across.

What an absolutely crap ad. Thank heavens Dave buys my flowers from the local farmer's market and arranges them himself.

I was offended cuz they implied men don't get flowers, they can only send them. I had a good cry over it too.

On a serious note though, I didn't think much of the commercial and sat silently through it until the flowerbox said, "And noone wants to see you naked either." Me and the other guy's eyes popped at that one and we laughed in surprise.

Men learn early on that that's one of the worst things to say to a woman and we were surprised they'd utter it on national TV. Many women have image issues as is and I thought this played on those fears in a cruel, manipulative way.

I wasn't offended but just surprised.

Just so you know: Florists pay the same amount for tulips that they pay for roses, gerbera daisies, and some lilies. The lilies in the tv ad cost more, and all flowers cost your retail florists more at holidays. However, having worked in the floral industry over the past 20 years, I can tell you that Teleflora is trying to do an FTD move and corner the market on flower sales, and what you see in any advertised arrangement of their's is all the flowers that are in the bouquet. It is a one-sided representation of your actual boquet. Be sure if you order flowers through Teleflora that you get specifics on what you will be paying for. Personally, they cost more to make, have less in them for your money and you can get a vase that is the same only without that little heart on it for less money straight from your florist, as well as a fuller arrangement for mixed flowers.

Few hints for buying your Valentine flowers.

Use your local florist.

Avoid call services where possible. They advertise cheap, but the majority of florists have a minimum order amount usually ranging from $30 up plus delivery (around $9) and sales tax.

Find the cheapest dozen rose arrangement. Unless you are mixing roses and lillies with some other more exotic flowers, they shouldn't cost you an arm and a leg. Florists pay close to the same price for roses, depending on where they are located in the states.

Avoid buying those grocery store specials unless you know how to see if the flowers you are buying will live longer than over night, especiially roses. Fresh flowers have firmer heads than old, ready to die flowers do.

To keep your arrangement fresher longer: Change the water out every other day and clip the flower stems back a half inch so that they can get the fresh water. Cut stems tend to heal over and the flower can't soak up the water. You can also add a teaspoon of sugar or put an aspirin in the vase to help keep your flowers alive longer. And please, Do Not set your arrangement in the direct sunlight or in front of a window. You'll fry it.

I have to go work now and poke posies all day.

As for that commercial, it was dumb.

C.bronco said:

I had no idea that anyone delivered flowers in a box!

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Flowers in a box always make me think of the scene in Terminator II where Arnie carries his shotgun in a box of long-stemmed roses. As he grabs the gun and drops the box, the box spins around and falls in slow-motion, and he treads on the flowers as he paces forward.

Uh... I'm in the wrong forum again, aren't I?

I'm usually the first one to scream about people insulting romance, but this one didn't blip my radar...it was more insulting to single women in general (with the cat comment and that no one wants to see her naked). To be honest? Guys don't care what you look like if you're naked, all they see is naked.

(And I always get flowers in a box! Flowers in a box > No Flowers at all)

I prefer flowers in a box. The box protects them from being damaged or effected by temperatire extremes--I mean how many cheap vases does one person need?

I thought it was funny.

And don't really see how it insulted romance novels.

I thought it was funny, too. (just watched it online since I don't watch the Super Bowl). And I don't think it was in any way insulting towards romance novels.

Still, I'd prefer flowers in a box. They are kept fresher that way. Any time an ad is going against conventional wisdom it has to be kind of outrageous, anyway.

Even as I was snickering, I heard a voice inside my head saying, "Woo, boy! Are they in for trouble."

I thought it was hilarous. Of course, I come from Sci Fi/Fantasy, where we also must endure a good deal of mocking. We learn to laugh at ourselves.

Also, the message was that Teleflora WON'T mock your romance novels. Only the boxed flowers of the competition will.

Flowers in a box stir the oldest and first memories of romance. The corsage for the prom came in a clear plastic box -white flowers on a sprig of green with too much ribbon. In romance stories, not the horror ones (Terminator and Charmed are a different kind of romance), the heroine picks up the white box, puts it on the table. She slowly unties the silky ribbon. As the ribbons falls to the sides, she lifts the lid to find a dozen long stem red roses in a bed of baby’s breath. Flowers sent in the way her father sent flowers to her mother, her grandfather to her grandmother. Flowers in a box are the heritage of passion and love forever.


DeBeer eat your heart out.

I thought it was funny.

Stlight said:

Flowers in a box stir the oldest and first memories of romance. The corsage for the prom came in a clear plastic box -white flowers on a sprig of green with too much ribbon. In romance stories, not the horror ones (Terminator and Charmed are a different kind of romance), the heroine picks up the white box, puts it on the table. She slowly unties the silky ribbon. As the ribbons falls to the sides, she lifts the lid to find a dozen long stem red roses in a bed of baby’s breath. Flowers sent in the way her father sent flowers to her mother, her grandfather to her grandmother. Flowers in a box are the heritage of passion and love forever.


DeBeer eat your heart out.

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in a mystery or thriller, the flowers would be shrivelled and withered accompanied perhaps by a dead bunny, which was only yesterday alive and frolicking in the living room. hard to do that as an arrangement in a vase.

And I do read romance and I have a cat!

So a few hours after the Super Bowl, I dropped Teleflora an email letting them know how I felt about the ad. Yesterday morning, they sent me an email offering me a 15% discount. I'm oddly amused. And, no, I won't be using the discount.

If my flowers ever talked to me .. They would so be thrown out the window!!!