Mysinglefriend.com bids for Valentine's Day buzz

Online dating site Mysinglefriend.com is running a viral campaign, which shows a hostage teddy bear gagged and tied to a chair, in a bid to reclaim Valentine's Day for singles.

The campaign revolves around standalone website The Bear Gets It, which was promoted using postcards sent anonymously to journalists around the UK.

The mailing shows a picture of the hostage bear and in a ransom-note style typeset, the words: "Give Valentine's Day back to single people or the bear gets it", which included a link to the website.

Visitors to the website are met with more images of the hostage teddy bear and a countdown for the official launch date, February 10.

The website will act as an online community for frustrated singles who are tired of being left out on Valentine's Day, while promoting Mysinglefriend.com.

The site has been generating buzz across the internet on websites such as Twitter and Facebook, as well as in weekly magazines and weekend newspapers.

Nick Lisher, strategy director at Mysinglefriend.com, said: "We work in an industry that so readily preys on the "incomplete" life of the single person, and it is our continuing goal to challenge that by championing the single, while presenting a refreshing alternative to online dating.

"It was our objective to come up with a campaign that was fun, without being glib -- user-led, without being staged -- and a little dangerous, without offending.

"With this in mind, we asked our members how they felt about February 14th. With so many of them expressing their distaste for both the sickly sweet veneer and the commercial nature of Valentine's Day, it became clear to us that Thebeargetsit.com's message was long overdue."