Asda’s red basket Valentine’s Day dating initiative goes viral on social media

A fun initiative by Asda to help single shoppers find love in the aisles on Valentine’s Day has become a viral sensation and a huge talking point on social media.
Hundreds of thousands of people are posting, sharing and tagging friends in comments after seeing others posting about Asda introducing special red shopping baskets on February 14 which singles can choose instead of the classic green ones to signal to others they're "open to talk".

One Facebook post alone has had more than 50,000 likes, comments and shares, with people saying things like "Asda's the new Tinder", "Forget going on Love Island, Asda is the place to be", "I actually really like this idea. It's silly and fun. I want to go to Asda just to see who's got a red basket".

Popular social media content creator Sophie Jones got a whopping **four million views **on an Instagram reel showing her summoning up the courage to approach a fellow shopper with a red basket. Sophie's known for her "rejection therapy" videos where she deliberately puts herself in awkward situations to boost her confidence.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DUld6aBjGuW/?hl=en

Her fans loved the video, saying things like: "You are absolutely perfect for this 😂 love it 🥰 well done @asda 👏👏👏 you got the right girl".
Some of the other comments on her Reel:

• "This is the best kind of cringe, I'm absolutely here for it 😍😂

• "This As Da B the BEST ADVERT to ever be created!🥺 please update us on your second date 🥰🙏💕"

• "Never laughed so hard 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣"

The red baskets have really caught the imagination across social media, with so many comments like:

• "This is actually genius ❣️"

• "I think it’s a great idea! Beats tinder or bumble or whichever and shows bravery to put themselves out there!"

• Maybe I'm a hopeless romantic, but I absolutely love this idea from Asda.

• "I would 100% do this 🤣 I’m fed up of online dating and would much rather meet someone down the biscuit or booze aisle 🤣🤪"

• "I like how ASDA are trying to go back to the 90's when you actually had to leave the house and find love"

• "I reckon you would find out more genuine stuff about a person from their shopping basket in Asda than their Tinder profile 😂 

• "ASDA – unlikely cupids, but good for them."

• "im off to asda this weekend 🤣🤣"

Lots of people are imagining the awkwardness of picking up the wrong colour basket by mistake:

• "We all know men dont read stuff properly so could you imagine all the men who just grabbed a basket not paying attention and getting approached 😂😂"

• "Just imagine you didn't know about the reasons for the different colours and you are the most antiisocial introvert and accidentally pick up the red one and people start approaching you when you are trying to shop quietly and under the radar... So glad I have seen this 😜"

• "I would absolutely grab a basket without reading it 😭"

• "My partner pays zero attention to anything. He would definitely pick up a red one in error 🤣🤣🤣🤣"

Marketing professionals on LinkedIn are calling it a "genius" idea:

• "The most talked-about dating app during Valentine's week is..... ASDA??????? ... If people are talking about it, it’s working and I love it 😂😂"

• "I love this idea! ❣️ Might be a bit cringe, but cringe is in! We're lacking third spaces, especially for those who don't drink or like going out, so where are you meant to meet people irl? Asda may start a trend..."

• "Taps perfectly into a wider cultural shift where people are stepping away from constant tech, dating apps and screens for real-life connection ... This is how brands build relevance. By creating moments people actually feel."

• "Sometimes it's the simplest, lowest-cost ideas that connect with people. Probably because it has to be people-led."

• "Great to see new activity which epitomises what customers have always loved about Asda! 🤩"

And, of course, there's no shortage of funny comments and jokes across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram and X:

• "I can imagine Hugh Grant charmingly say "do you want to Rollback™ to my place?"

• "Locking eyes over the yellow sticker section"

• Just imagine meeting the love of your life by the fish counter 😂😂😂

• "If you're colour-blind, you'll be hitting on all the shoppers!"

• can you imagine the chat up lines .. "Are those eggs free range?" "Yeah… and so am I." STOP IT 😅"

• "Everything comes back into fashion eventually. Baggy jeans, thick eyebrows. Meeting people in real life. 😂"

• "Imagine finding ya soulmate shopping for toilet roll and frozen chips"

• "Just nipping to Asda for some bread and milk. Why were you gone an hour? Me – walking round a 1000 times"

• "This happened with a family friend. Conversation was something like: Mum: They met in Iceland Me: Oh, Reykjavik? Mum: No, next to the burgers and sausages"

The reaction on social media has unearthed lots of examples showing that looking for love in a supermarket has definitely worked for others who have found life-long partners:

• "My dad met his girlfriend after she dropped a bag of frozen peas and he picked them up for her. 10+ years later and they’re still together 😂"

• "I met my husband is Asda. On the cheese aisle. No lie! Been together nearly 14 years now xx Dave ❤️"

• "I met my husband 14 years ago in Asda 🙈 both customers and he asked for my number 🙈"

• I met my husband as he was bag packing at the bottom of my checkout in Asda Toryglen. That was 21 years ago. We are married 19 years in September x

The red baskets are appearing in Leicester, Liverpool and Glasgow on Valentine's Day.