The last two people in the world you’d expect to celebrate Valentine’s Day are Darth Vader from Star Wars and Magneto from X-Men, but that isn’t stopping Anthony Petrie from creating geeky Valentine’s Day cards based on their iconic helmets. The best part of all, rather than having the faces of these two megalomaniacal villains on the nerdy cards, Petrie has giant red hearts in their place. This is simultaneously adorable and insightful as viewers are alerted to the fact that both helmets do indeed have heart-shaped openings.
Accompanying each romantic Anthony Petrie rendering are cheesy lines like, "I feel a strong attraction to you," and, "the Force is strong with you." If you’re looking to give out Valentine’s cards while saving a couple of bucks, Petrie offers these two cards free to download on his website.
Sci-Fi Heart-Shaped Helmets
Anthony Petrie Makes Geeky Valentines For Nerdy Lovers
Trend Themes
1. Geeky Valentine’s Day Cards - Creating niche Valentine’s Day cards based on popular sci-fi characters and launching them as free downloads presents an opportunity to monetize a holiday while tapping into a fanbase.
2. Iconic Helmets and Pop Culture - Taking iconic helmets from popular culture, twisting a recognizable element within them and refocusing on design offers new possibilities for fashion, wearable accessories, and customizable merchandise.
3. Branded Nostalgia Merchandise - A nostalgia-based approach to branded merchandise, incorporating romantic themes with an iconic design, can create meaningful connections with fans of a specific franchise and offer a new revenue stream for brands.
Industry Implications
1. E-commerce - Creating custom Valentine’s Day cards can increase customer engagement and bring in new customers through free downloads, which can lead to increased sales of related pop culture merchandise.
2. Fandom Merchandise - Adapting popular sci-fi designs into wearable accessories and customizable merchandise can appeal to specific fan bases and create opportunities for new revenue streams.
3. Print-on-demand - By combining niches like Valentine’s Day and pop culture, print-on-demand services can offer customized products that provide fans with unique experiences while opening up another revenue stream for the industry.