Most (81%) Say Valentine's Day is `Just a Lot of Hype',
But Majority (56%) Would Feel `Blue' if Partner
Didn't Make Extra Effort

Toronto, ON - Canadians appear to be contradictory in their beliefs when it comes to Valentine's Day, with a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Pfizer revealing that while most (81%) Canadians aged 30 and older `think that Valentine's Day is just a lot of hype', a majority (55%) also confess that they `would secretly feel a little blue' if their partner didn't make an extra effort on Valentine's Day.

Not surprisingly, the differences of opinion between men and women are significant. More men (83%) than women (79%) believe that Valentine's Day is just a `lot of hype'. Fewer men (49%) than women (62%) also indicate that they would feel a little sad if their partner didn't put in an extra effort on Valentine's Day.

Interestingly, Canadians aged 30-39 are more likely (83%) than middle-aged Canadians (81%), aged 40-54, and older Canadians (79%), aged 55 and older, to think that Valentine's Day is just a lot of hype. However, younger Canadians are also more likely (61%) than middle-aged (56%) or older Canadians (53%) to be upset if their partner didn't make a big deal of it.

• Those living in Quebec are the most likely to think that Valentine's Day is just a lot of hype (85%), and Atlantic Canadians are the least likely (77%). Furthermore, Atlantic Canadians are the most likely to be upset if their partner didn't put in extra effort on February 14th (61%), while Albertans (49%) are the least likely to say this.

While supposedly being the day of cupid and amorous courtship, just four in ten (42%) adult Canadians aged 30 and older indicate that they will `definitely' (11%) or `probably' (31%) be having sex on Valentine's Day. But with more men (47%) than women (37%) indicating that this is the case, there could perhaps be a lot of disappointed men on February 14th. In fact, six in ten (58%) adult Canadians aged 30 and older say that they will `probably not' (39%) or `definitely not' (19%) be engaging in sexual relations on Valentine's Day.

• While it is expected that younger adults (60% of those aged 30-39, and 48% of those aged 40-54) would be more likely to indicate that they expect to have sex on Valentine's Day, three in ten (28%) Canadians aged 55 and older still expect some physical romance on February 14th.
• Regionally, Quebecers and Atlantic Canadians (51%) are the most likely to be expecting to have sex on Valentine's Day, followed distantly by those in Ontario (40%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (39%), British Columbia (36%) and Alberta (34%).

Perhaps not surprisingly, a majority of women would rather have chocolate (52%) than sex (48%) on Valentine's Day, while the same is certainly not the case for men - it's not even a contest! A much higher proportion of men would rather have sex (85%) than chocolate (15%) on this special day.

And thinking about the things that they would most like their partner to do for them on Valentine's Day, it appears that men would like their partner to celebrate with them at home over a special dinner (27%), to go out for dinner or a date away from home (19%), to be seduced (19%), or to go away for a weekend (11%). Women, though, would prefer to go out for dinner (25%), eat a quiet meal at home (21%), receive flowers or chocolates (12%), go away for a weekend (9%), be seduced (6%), or receive a love note or poem (6%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Pfizer from January 25 to January 28, 2008. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1792 adult Canadians aged 30 and older was interviewed via the Ipsos I-Say Online Panel. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 2.3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of Canada been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Research Manager
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

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