• by Danielle Oster , December 12, 2024

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International Breakup Day was on Dec. 11. The origins of the day appear dubious -- according to HuffPost, it was designated based on an analysis of Facebook relationship status updates from 2008, finding a spike in breakups in the weeks after Thanksgiving and before Christmas. Still, brands haven’t stopped marketing around a cultural moment, no matter how manufactured it might be.

This year, Amazon and Kleenex consciously coupled for a campaign featuring “The Breakup Calculator," created alongside agency VML.

Interactive digital tool the “Breakup Calculator’ uses the Amazon Ads ecosystem to provide users with what it claims is an approximate timeline for healing from a breakup and getting over an ex. It functions something like an online quiz that gets passed around social media, basing its calculations on responses on a series of questions about the relationship and how it ended.

If you were engaged and your fiancé just broke up with you yesterday following a relationship of over a year,  and are someone who cries everyday, the calculator says it will take around six months to recover. Someone who mutually ended a week-long “situationship” in the past month, rarely cries, and is feeling hopeful, will require 1.5 months to move on -- and four boxes of tissues == according to the calculator. That math seems fuzzy, but it’s unlikely anyone would take the Breakup Calculator too seriously.

Along with the timeline and required tissue estimate, the digital tool provides  recommendations for healing, including what to stream on Amazon Prime, and curated song, book, and podcast recommendations available on Amazon. There’s also a link to a product page for Kleenex Lotion Facial Tissues with Coconut Oil, on Amazon with a coupon for $1 off a 4-pack and $2 off an 8-pack.

The campaign is being supported by paid media running on Amazon Ads online and social media channels, including an influencer partnership with actor Daniel Peera (‘NCIS,’ ‘The Cleaning Lady’) on TikTok.  Kleenex also included organic posts supporting the effort on its Instagram page.