Not everyone knows that there is a day on the calendar that is the saddest of the whole year. A day in which all the stars come together to make the world seem like a grayer place. If you don’t know what day it is, we’ll tell you all about it Blue Monday: What is it, origin and meaning
What is Blue Monday?
It turns out that the saddest day of the year, how could it be otherwise, falls on a Monday. Specific, the third monday in januaryregardless of the day it falls. And if we take into account that the study that determined this day was done in the United Kingdom, it is understandable that they call it ‘Blue’, that is, sad. It’s that simple to explain what is blue monday.
Obviously, Blue Monday goes much further. To begin with, that everything was part of an advertising campaign that, as you can see, got out of hand. In terms of popularity, Blue Monday has spread throughout the world and if we take into account that the term was coined in 2005the matter is even more surprising.
Photo: @featherytern
In fact, the contrast that supposes that the saddest day in the world is so close in the Valentine’s Day calendar is curious. Yes indeed, the origin of valentine It is somewhat more romantic than Blue Monday.
To know how this hatching took place, it is best to look back to analyze what is the origin of blue monday.
What is the origin of Blue Monday?
It all starts at the Lifelong Learning Center, a center attached to the Cardiff Universitywhere Cliff arnallpsychology professor decides to calculate, scientific formula by, what was the saddest day of the year.
In the formula elements were taken into account such as travel time, delays, time spent on cultural activities, time spent relaxing, time spent sleeping, time spent preparing luggage, and time spent on final preparation.
Obviously, this first formula was aimed at travel and everything has an explanation but let’s go step by step.
Photo: @francesstefanie
To that first formula, very reductionist, Other more generic variables were added that could be applied to the common family. From the weather, the family debt, the monthly salary, the time since Christmas, the moment when the New Year’s resolutions come to nothing, the level of motivation and the need to do something.
This is how Cliff Arnell came to the conclusion that the third monday in january was the saddest day of the year. In January 2005 Blue Monday was born
Photo: @reyemedar_elime
The patron of this story, as we have anticipated, it turned out to be a travel company called Sky Travel. His advertising campaign intended compare the saddest day of the year with the travel options that they themselves offered. Well thought. Of course, it did not go very far because the company ended up breaking.
The company disappeared but the idea of Blue Monday remained. So much so that, today, Blue Monday has established itself as the saddest day of the year and has been used by large companies to launch their own offers, in true Black Friday style.
In parallel to the Blue Monday promotions, the idea has also been established on social networks that on that day you have to cheer up those who are down. Thus, year after year, when the third Monday of January arrives, the hashtag #StopBlueMonday is filled with messages of optimism, positivism and good vibes. Without a doubt, a happy place to go to at any time of low.
Indeed, in 2016 Cliff Arnall took advantage of the pull of his Blue Monday to participate in another advertising campaign. Was the Government of the Canary Islandsin a nice attempt to promote tourism to its islands, which hired the famous psychologist.
Photo: @paulaprdl
Cliff Arnell made enough money to bring his own studio into disrepute, invalidating the sadness of his Blue Monday. The objective was clear: to convince whoever saw the campaign that traveling to the Canary Islands could be happy. The campaign was a success but, of course, in the Canary Islands, a peninsular paradise, it has no merit because people go all year round.
The meaning of Blue Monday
The meaning of Blue Mondayat least currently, is one more day to celebrate the consumer society in which we live.
Especially since 2015, when online sales began to skyrocket around the world, Blue Monday has been multiplying its popularity and becoming a kind of Black Friday of sadness. In this case, the excuse to buy is simple: being the saddest day of the year, nothing like giving me a treat to cheer me up.
And that’s how the large global multinationals launch more and more campaigns focused on Blue Monday. Campaigns that arrive with the addition of coincide in time with the January saleswhich on many occasions represents an added discount to those that many products already have.
Photo: @zofia.krawczyyk
A) Yes, Zara, Mango, media market, Samsung either Massimo Dutti will realize the renewed meaning of Blue Monday. In fact, despite being in full swing in January, the success of Blue Monday at a commercial level It has been such that their promotions have gone from lasting one day to lasting a week.
It’s the same as with the Black friday which usually goes away for a week, to which is added the Cyber monday, linking almost two weeks that represent the biggest sales period of the year for giants like Amazon. Even more than Christmas, Father’s or Mother’s Day, or the aforementioned Valentine’s Day.
Photo: @samsung.world
And this is how an advertising campaign dictated what was the saddest day of the year, that day became something institutional throughout the world to end, in an unexpected paradox, at the point where it began: turned into a shopping day like no other.