Torstar-owned publishing company Harlequin has filed a patent application in the United States as part of a public relations initiative that includes an interactive contest.
The Toronto-based company’s patent application for the “Essential Romantic Kiss” was filed last week. Since then, Harlequin has invited consumers across North America to “patent” their own kissing style using a tool available at the contest website PatentYourKiss.com.
Visitors to the site can enter the contest by creating their own kiss. To do so, users can manipulate sketches of a man and woman into the kissing position of their choice, write out the steps involved in the kiss and give the kissing style a name.
All uploaded kisses are available for viewing. Consumers can vote on their favourite kissing styles, with the 10 top-ranked “patents” as of March 30 shortlisted for the grand prize. Harlequin will select the winner, who will receive a trip for two to the Paris Las Vegas Hotel.
The contest is open to both Canadian and U.S. citizens.
Michelle Renaud, senior manager, public relations for Harlequin, said the kissing concept was a natural fit for a publishing company known for its romance novels.
“We publish over 110 books a month, most of which are romance-focused, and we have a kiss in every single one of those books,” said Renaud. “We’ve been doing this for well over 60 years, so we thought, how can we take ownership of that moment and yet share that moment with the world?”
Renaud said Harlequin and Caesars, which owns the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, are both promoting the contest via their respective branded social media properties.
“We’ve seen a lot of retweets and our readers are getting excited about it,” said Renaud.
Harlequin also commissioned a kissing-related survey from Harris/Decima Can-Am Omni, asking North Americans to share their attitudes about kissing. The results of the survey can be found on the PatentYourKiss website.
