The Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day are two things we don’t usually put together. This year, Target is changing that. The popular retailer has created a unique charity campaign combining the hype of these events with the power of social media. Target is crowdsourcing its Facebook fans, and the entire online community, by giving them the chance to spread $1 million among five different charities – with a twist.

The “twist” in this new campaign is where the Superbowl and Valentine’s Day come into play.   Instead of simply voting, users are asked to vote for their favorite charity, then create and send a unique e-card through Target’s Facebook fan page in order to have their vote counted. The app, called the “Super Love Sender,” will be active for two weeks, ending on February 14th, spanning both the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day.

In creating the e-card, users select from a variety of football and valentine themed e-cards, which include videos of football players in quirky, entertaining song and dance situations. Some options allow senders to personalize the e-card even further, by selecting what kind of dances the players will do. To personalize the card further, users can upload a photo of the e-card’s intended recipient, which becomes part of the video as well. The final e-card includes the selected video theme, as well as a personalized written message. In between wishing recipients a Happy Valentine’s Day and encouraging them to watch the Super Bowl, the football players also encourage the card’s recipient to create their own e-card and donate to their favorite charity as well. Each card sent equals one vote, and users can send up to 10 cards each day.

Target launched a similar campaign called Bullseye Gives last spring, which followed a similar format. Last year, Bullseye Gives allowed users to allocate $3 million among 10 charities. The campaign brought in more than 290,000 votes, with the highest number of votes (and portion of the $3 million) going to St. Jude’s Research Hospital. This year, Target has narrowed down the list of charities from 10 to five, focusing on charities with an educational emphasis. The charities users can vote for this year include: Kids in Need Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, The Salvation Army, United Through Reading Military Program, and the United Way.

“At Target, we continually look for unique ways to interact with our guests and provide them with the opportunity to participate in our charitable giving,” said Laysha Ward, president, of community relations for Target, in a news release issued Monday. “We designed Super Love Sender to be a fun, interactive and viral giving campaign that has the power to positively impact the educational programming…

To read more about Target’s new Facebook program, go to Sparxoo, digital marketing, branding and business development blog.