ANZ and TBWA\NZ Create 'Scammers Bloom' to Ward Off Romantic Scams

This Valentine’s Day, ANZ Bank and TBWA\New Zealand flipped tradition on its head with Scammers Bloom - a unique rose, specially created to raise awareness about romance scams. The long-stemmed roses - usually the ultimate symbol of love - looked beautiful, but as people got closer they realised they smelt fishy.

The unexpected take on a traditional florist transformed a cultural moment, usually centered around love, into a powerful awareness campaign, highlighting the rise of online romance scams and their devastating impact.

Available for one day only at Love Stinks, a pop-up flower shop in Auckland, unsuspecting visitors came for the roses, only to discover the unpleasant scent - a symbolic warning that things aren’t always as they seem. Accompanied by cleverly crafted Valentine’s Day cards with cheeky metaphors like, “You’re a perfect catch,” the pop-up sparked smiles, raised eyebrows and encouraged conversation. Scam prevention tips were offered inside the card and the activation encouraged Kiwis to talk openly about the red flags of romance scams.

"Romance Scams are not talked about enough, and rely on people being lured in through romantic gestures, only to find out too late that the relationship is not what it seemed and is in fact a scam. ANZ wanted to pull scams out from the shadows, educate people on what to look out for and how easy they can be to fall for, to help New Zealanders take a stand,” said Shane Bradnick, chief creative officer at TBWA\New Zealand.

“The Scammers Bloom was a disruptive way of doing this on the most romantic day of the year. By taking the perfect romantic gesture, a bunch of roses, and making them smell fishy - or ‘phishy’ - we dramatised this significant social issue. The Scammers Bloom was gifted to visitors at a boutique pop-up flower shop called ‘Love Stinks’ leading to queues around the block, national headlines and social pick-up which helped the message go further," added Shane.

"Sometimes when something looks a bit too good to be true, it is, like AI convincing people they are dating Brad Pitt."

The campaign generated significant engagement both on the ground and online. Social media was flooded with reactions, media outlets picked up the story, and ANZ saw an increase in traffic to its scam prevention resources.

"Romance scams are a growing problem, and many victims don’t recognise the warning signs until it’s too late. By turning a symbol of love into something unexpected, we got people thinking, and helped educate people to hopefully prevent future scams," said Matthew Pickering, general manager of marketing at ANZ New Zealand.

With online fraud evolving rapidly, ANZ and TBWA\New Zealand continue to explore innovative ways to educate and protect consumers.

For more information, visit ANZ’s scam safety page.