Tiffany & Co. thinks it has the answer. The company recently launched a cute new campaign dubbed “What Makes Love True” complete with a spiffy new website with love stories and romantic sites in Manhattan (probably not the most romantic place on Earth). Obviously, it is a clever marketing campaign designed to make sure you buy a diamond when (if?) you get married, but it did get me thinking on the nature of true love.

The campaign has a short film directed by Edward Burns titled “Will You Marry Me?” Yes it is heavily laced with sappy (but still interesting) love stories about how couples met. It also features a broad array of diverse couples sitting on a cozy couch looking uncomfortable as their significant other jaws on about how special he/she is. If you haven’t seen the video, yes each love story conveniently does always end with a ring.

Putting aside moral arguments against diamonds, my main issue with the video is the somewhat one-dimensional view of true love that it proejcts. It’s all about how people immediately “knew.” But is that how true love actually happens? I noticed that many of the couples in the video are younger. How do they know their love will actually last (excuse the cynicism). Can love not develop over time and through commitment? Looking at the larger picture and placing this video in the context of today’s society,  I can’t help but wonder how our perception of true love has been altered via ads, celebrities and sitcoms. The general sentiment is that true love just happens.

But is that really true? What do you think?

Sincerly,

Vain