Courting Kiwis Pledge their Passion by Post

4 February 2005
Signed, Sealed Delivered, I’m Yours:

Courting Kiwis Pledge their Passion by Post

For expressions of love, the best route to New Zealanders’ hearts is through the mail. A New Zealand Post survey in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch has revealed what’s on the minds and in the hearts of men and women on Valentines Day.

Top of the findings is that pledging your passion by post is the best way to get your sweetheart swooning. 78% of the 550 respondents said getting a Valentines message in the mail would give them the greatest romantic surprise and excitement. At the other end of the seduction scale, virtual messages (only 4% support) proved to be the romantic equivalent of a bucket of cold water.

“The results tell us clearly that New Zealanders still love a love letter – that there is still something incredibly romantic and mysterious about receiving a message of love in the post,” said Gregory Thomas, New Zealand Post’s Consumer Programme Manager.

To keep the love flowing through the mail, New Zealand Post is offering courting Kiwis the chance to win a trip for two to Paris by drawing a heart on the back of their Valentine’s envelope and mailing it within New Zealand from 9-12 February. “We want to share a little love with our customers by sending one lucky couple to the most romantic city in the world,” said Mr Thomas.

Appropriately enough, there is passionate debate about which centre can claim to be New Zealand’s own “City Of Love”. Amorous Aucklanders are the most likely to send a Valentines message this year, but Wellington men showed their tender side by wanting a romantic Valentines card more than anyone else. Christchurch women were the most likely to spice up their love messages by sealing them with a kiss.

Daniel Carter and Nicky Watson have beaten everyone from the Prime Minister to Peter Jackson as the local celebrities that Kiwis would most love to get a Valentines card from in their letterbox, but they had a lot of “hot” competition.

Auckland men fancied Brooke Fraser as much as Nicky Watson, but Brooke Fraser was top of the pops with men in her home town of Wellington. Nicky Watson was the clear favourite for men in Christchurch. Auckland women chose Carlos Spencer as often as they did Daniel Carter in the battle for the foxiest first five-eight. However, Christchurch women overlooked local hero Daniel Carter and were more attracted by Russell Crowe’s beautiful mind. For women under 18, not many if any dudes could beat rap artist Scribe, who was more than twice as popular as his nearest rival.

Others who made it on the Valentines wish-list include Paul Holmes, Judy Bailey, Stephen Fleming, Winston Peters, Eva the Bulgarian and “the lady from the Briscoes commercials”.

You don’t have to be a celebrity to win adoration for posting a Valentines. New Zealanders rate people who mail Valentines messages as great shakes in the love stakes, saying that they are best described as people who make an effort and know the importance of a personal touch (53%), or who have a greater sense of romance (27%).

When it comes to expressing love, New Zealanders favour romance over raunchiness. Over four times as many people rated romantic Valentines cards as most likely to get their hearts fluttering compared to those who like their cards a little steamy.

Kiwis also like the classical approach to signing off their messages of love, with lots of x’s (xxxxxx) proving the most popular option ahead of “Your Secret Admirer”, “All my love, your Snugly Bear” and “a great big kiss print with red lipstick”.

“Quite a few respondents suggested traditional favourites such as ‘lots of love’ and ‘yours forever’, which goes to show that Valentines Day is still about good old-fashioned love and romance,” said Mr Thomas.

“Overall, these survey results say that whether people want to declare their love openly or express it secretly, posting a Valentines message is a personal and romantic way to do it.”

And which group was revealed as New Zealand’s most romantic? Proving that true love doesn’t fade with age, the over 40-year-olds beat the hormone-charged youngsters, with every person surveyed in this age category having sent a Valentines card before.

ENDS

New Zealand Post Valentines Day survey results

- Among those surveyed, 74% of men and 79% of women thought that it was important to send a personal greeting on Valentines Day.

- 78% of people said that a Valentines Day message posted to their letter box would give them the greatest romantic surprise and excitement. This was followed by phone (11%), text message (6%) and virtual card or message (4%).

- 44% of respondents said a romantic card was most likely to get their heart fluttering, compared with a funny (29%), poetic (16%) or a steamy card (11%).

- “With lots of x’s (xxxxxx)” was the most popular Valentines Day card sign-off (39%). 21% preferred “from your Secret Admirer”, 14% “all my love, your Snugly bear” and 12% “a great big kiss print with red lipstick”. 14% preferred their own sign-off.

- Women from Wellington (37%) were more likely to be moved by a funny card than women from Auckland (18%) or Christchurch (24%).

- A funny card is just as likely to get a Christchurch man’s heart fluttering as a romantic card (32% of Christchurch men selected each answer).

- Men and women from Auckland are more likely to sign off as a Secret Admirer (25% of Auckland men, compared with 21% of Wellington and Christchurch men, and 25% of Auckland women, compared with 18% of Wellington and Christchurch women).

- Among New Zealand celebrities people would most like to receive a Valentines Day card from, Daniel Carter was the most popular among women, with Nicky Watson the most popular for men.

- In Auckland Brooke Fraser and Nicky Watson were tied for the celebrity men would most like to receive a Valentines Day card from. Carlos Spencer and Daniel Carter were tied for Auckland women. In Wellington Brooke Fraser was a slightly more popular choice than Nicky Watson for men, with Daniel Carter a clear favourite for women. In Christchurch Nicky Watson was a clear favourite for men, with Russell Crowe a slightly more popular choice than Daniel Carter for women.

- Rap artist Scribe was popular among women under 18 in Wellington and Christchurch, with Brooke Fraser most popular among men in the under 18 age band in Auckland.

- 82% of Auckland men are planning to send a Valentines Day card this year, compared with 56% of Wellington men and 58% of Christchurch men. 69% of Auckland women are planning to send a card, compared with 48% of Wellington women and 56% of Christchurch women.

Note: some percentage totals do not add to 100 due to rounding.

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