According to New Survey, Men & Women Believe That a Lobster Dinner is the Meal and Valentine’s Day is the Most Romantic Time

ORLANDO, Fla. – Men may be from Mars and women may be from Venus, but the two sexes definitely agree on the holiday or special occasion, and during what type of meal, is the most romantic time to propose marriage.  A new survey commissioned by Red Lobster and conducted by Harris Interactive® reveals that, by far, U.S. adults believe a lobster dinner is the most romantic meal and Valentine’s Day is the most romantic holiday or special occasion for a marriage proposal.

The survey discovered that:

• February 14th is the best time to “pop” the question.

Men and women say that Valentine’s Day (54 percent) is overwhelmingly the most romantic holiday or special occasion to propose, followed by Christmas (16 percent), a birthday (12 percent), New Year’s (11 percent) and Thanksgiving (2 percent).

• Men, more than women, think Valentine’s Day is the most romantic holiday or special occasion to propose.

Men (58 percent) are more likely than woman (49 percent) to think that Valentine’s Day is the most romantic day to ask, “Will you marry me?”

• Lobster sets the mood.

Red Lobster
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Photo cutline:Survey reaffirms lobster is romantic
Credit: Red Lobster

Lobster was the clear winner when it came to romantic food.  Nearly four out of 10 men (36 percent) and women (37 percent) think that it would be most romantic to get engaged over a lobster dinner, compared to about a quarter of men (25 percent) and women (22 percent) who think steak would set the most romantic tone.  Other romantic meals include pasta (14 percent), shrimp (11 percent) and chicken (4 percent).

“Lobster is the most romantic of all foods,” said Red Lobster President Kim Lopdrup, who himself proposed marriage to his wife Cathy over a lobster dinner.  “There’s just something about breaking open the shell and enjoying that succulent taste and texture.  Sharing lobster on Valentine’s Day is twice as romantic.”  

Methodology
Harris Interactive® conducted the telephone survey on behalf of Red Lobster between November 5 and 8, 2004 among a nationally representative sample of 1,044 U.S. adults ages 18 and older, of whom 518 were men and 526 were women. Figures for age, gender, geographic region, and race were weighted where necessary to align with population proportions.

In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results for the overall sample have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points and that the results for the individual samples of men and women have a sampling error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

Red Lobster operates more than 680 seafood casual dining restaurants in the United States and Canada.  For the Red Lobster nearest you, please call 1-800-LOBSTER or visit www.redlobster.com.

About Harris Interactive®
Harris Interactive Inc. (www.harrisinteractive.com), the 15th largest and fastest-growing market research firm in the world, is a Rochester, N.Y.-based global researchcompany that blends premier strategic consulting with innovative and efficient methods of investigation, analysis and application. Known for The Harris Poll® and for pioneering Internet-based research methods, Harris Interactive conducts proprietary and public research to help its clients achieve clear, material and enduring results.

Harris Interactive combines its intellectual capital, databases and technology to advance market leadership through U.S. offices and wholly owned subsidiaries: London-based HI Europe (www.hieurope.com), Paris-based Novatris (www.novatris.com), Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan (www.harrisinteractive.com), through newly acquired WirthlinWorldwide, a Reston, Virginia-based research and consultancy firm ranked 25th largest in the world, and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies. EOE M/F/D/V.