• by February 14, 2005

CUPID AIN'T STUPID, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO BOOB TUBES - Everyone knows that subscribers of the popular digital video recorder brand love their TiVos, but in a genuine test of the brand's power - and the love for it - Carat Interactive today broke a radio and online ad campaign recommending that people express their fondness for loved ones on Valentine's Day by giving them one of the DVRs as a gift, instead of say greeting cards, flowers, chocolate or silky undergarments. What's more, the "I Like to Watch" campaign utilized a unique media planning approach to target lovers of every kind, targeting the gay market, as well as heterosexuals.

"The strategy went beyond simply buying ads on gay-friendly websites," notes Tamara Birdsall, vice president-creative director for Carat Interactive, and the cupid behind the holiday-themed promotion.

"We developed four different versions of the creative geared for male and female, female and female, and male and male," she explained, which, according to our arithmetic, adds up to three. As we ponder what fourth sexual possibility Carat had in mind for the effort, we're also thinking it's probably a good thing Birdsall pursued a career as a creative and not something that would be mathematically inclined like, say, media.

As for what constitutes a gay-friendly media buy, the only sites Birdsall would out were espn.com, TV Guide Online, and (no surprise) PlanetOut.

Says Birdsall: "We really wanted to encourage people to think beyond flowers or a dinner out. True romance is getting your mate something he or she really wants -- a TiVo box."

Now let's see how long that romance lasts when it comes to sharing the remote control.

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW - Speaking of Valentine's Day related promotional stunts, the holiday savvy PR team at The Weather Channel has released finings of a survey showing that "snow storms" topped the list of "Most Romantic Weather Conditions."

Apparently, these respondents didn't note whether they were the one to dig their car out last month. In any case, The Weather Channel's first annual "Weather and Romance Survey" also reported that more than 40 percent of respondents said that spring is the most romantic season, followed by fall. Winter and summer tied for least romantic.

Still, weather-lovers did express some practicality, as rain and lightning rank low on the romance scale, with more than half (52 percent) saying that it would be a nuisance. Nevertheless, power failures aren't always a tragedy for over 70 percent of the respondents, who said they would "light some candles and snuggle in with your significant other" when the lights went out.

Again, it's not known how many New Yorkers were surveyed about their feelings about the August 2003 Blackout, although a Weather Channel spokeswoman said the survey tabulated the results from 1000 adults--an even mix of men and women, between the ages of 26 and 45--from February 7th-10th, 2005.

CORRECTION - Friday's Riff incorrectly reported that Nielsen has plans to roll out local people meters in Houston. It does not.