News 18.11.2021

Need to Know

RumChata enters the world of book clubs, a disused Japanese bus upgrades as a mobile sauna and the shifting state of global beauty ideals.

RumChata transforms book clubs into rum ragers

Book Clubbers by Preacher for RumChata, US

US – With its Have Your Unusual advertising campaign, alcohol brand RumChata is showcasing how its rum drinks can suit any occasion – from the night club to the book club. Aiming to attract new audiences, the humorous campaign depicts a homely book club transforming into a house party, with revellers playing table tennis as they drink and discuss their book's themes or talk about their own literary endeavours.

Made with creative agency Preacher, the ad aligns RumChata’s liqueurs with unexpected events, illustrating how its range of products can suit, if not enhance, a variety of occasions. It also shows how alcohol brands can target drinkers entertaining or socialising at home around shared interests – the homebody economy continuing inter-Covid – rather than at a bar or club.

As revellers in the advert pontificate on their book's plot development, the campaign also aligns itself with the Kindred Diners movement, which promotes convivial, pleasurable yet thoughtful eating experiences that unite like-minded strangers.

Strategic opportunity

As consumer dining and drinking behaviours shift in response to the pandemic and personal feelings about socialising, alcohol brands can consider campaigns that reach more niche communal events

Sabus is a mobile Japanese spa experience

Sabus by Reverse Co, Japan Sabus by Reverse Co, Japan
Sabus by Reverse Co, Japan Sabus by Reverse Co, Japan

Japan – A disused Japanese bus is being given a second life as a mobile sauna. Called Sabus, the bus interior includes a resting space, a sauna room with wooden stoves and a small front-of-house welcome area. Many elements of the bus’s original interior have been retained, such as a functioning stop button that activates cooling water sprinklers when pressed.

The first project of its kind, this bus will begin service in early 2022. Its creators suggest there are opportunities for the Sabus to take up residency in car parks or at companies with outdoor facilities. By doing this, the concept cleverly reframes the vehicle’s intended purpose and presents an adaptable health and wellness environment that can be easily moved to meet different communities' needs.

Indeed, as people return to offices and health and wellness spaces, experiential and novel activities like the Sabus can help to provide a welcome and accessible break. In particular, Generation Z are driving this trend, embracing neo-rituals through alternative hangout spaces.

Strategic opportunity

Rather than creating new spaces, there is room to transform unused or overlooked public facilities. Take inspiration from this project and reflect on second-life use cases of existing infrastructures

A refugee camp challenging Western notions of heritage

London – Eschewing dominant Western notions of heritage, the Stateless Heritage exhibition at London's Mosaic Rooms is promoting a refugee camp in Palestine as a contender for UNESCO World Heritage status.

Showcasing the vitality, culture and agency that is common to refugee camps but often denied by mainstream narratives and media, Stateless Heritage wants to subvert traditional approaches to places and architecture considered worthy of protection and celebration.

Situated near Bethlehem, the Dheisheh site is one of the world’s oldest refugee camps, with a history dating back to 1949. Photographs in the gallery present the everyday experience of life living in the camp. ‘Refugee camps are established with the intention of being demolished… Yet the camp is also a place rich with stories, narrated through its urban fabric,' explains the Decolonizing Architecture Art Research (DAAR) collective, the exhibitions creator.

As globalisation continues to threaten concepts like nationality and identity, resistance movements are challenging prevailing depictions of certain cultures and communities. In line with the principles of New Bricolage Living, this exhibition expands our understanding of refugee camps, their residents and functions.

Stateless Heritage at The Mosaic Rooms, UK

Strategic opportunity

Many contemporary cultures and the people within them no longer identify with traditional identity binaries. In this vein, consider how you can celebrate and cater for identities or locations that are in flux or ever-changing

Stat: Beauty is no longer defined by physical appearance

Routinely, The Netherlands Routinely, The Netherlands

Fresh research by Euromonitor reveals that global mindsets are changing around beauty codes and ideals. In a study across markets including France, Germany, the UAE and South Korea, most respondents said beauty was no longer defined by physical appearance.

Almost half (44%) said beauty was about 'feeling comfortable in your own skin'. Meanwhile, more than 50% of those surveyed defined beauty as looking healthy, while just under 50% said it was about hygiene and cleanliness.

As consumers continue to develop more diverse definitions of beauty – and prioritise traits such as cleanliness – brands have an opportunity to explore new product offerings with hygiene-touting benefits. We explore this idea further in our Synchronised Care macrotrend.

Strategic opportunity

Brands in the beauty, health and wellness sectors must shift communications away from aesthetic considerations. Instead, prioritise how your products and services can make people feel in their own skin

Previous News Articles
Future Château launches mid-strength wines at Selfridges

News

Future Château launches mid-strength wines at Selfridges

Future Château, the new wine brand from author Tom Benn, is launching at Selfridges in October 2025 with a debut range of premium 5% ABV wines desi...
Drinks : Retail : Food
OpenArea reframes nature as cultural canvas with new London festival

News

OpenArea reframes nature as cultural canvas with new London festival

OpenArea, the brainchild of cultural strategist Ollie Olanipekun, transformed Camley Street Nature Reserve in King’s Cross into a vibrant hub of ar...
Nature : Food : Design
Stat: Americans push back against tipflation

News

Stat: Americans push back against tipflation

Tipping fatigue is intensifying across the US, with 65% of consumers saying they are tired of tipping – up from 53% in 2023, according to Popmenu’s...
Retail : US Market : Hospitality
Lancôme opens luxury retreat space and cafe in Doha airport

News

Lancôme opens luxury retreat space and cafe in Doha airport

Lancôme has unveiled Café de la Rose inside Doha’s Hamad International Airport, its first travel retail café and only the second globally.
Retail : Beauty : Travel
Foresight Friday: Rose Coffey, senior foresight analyst

News

Foresight Friday: Rose Coffey, senior foresight analyst

Every Friday, The Future Laboratory team offers an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, ...
Foresight Friday : Fashion : Beauty
Stat: Americans turn to travel to connect with loved ones

News

Stat: Americans turn to travel to connect with loved ones

A new survey from Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection reveals Americans are craving more meaningful time with loved ones, and travel is emerging as a key ...
Travel : Statistic : Optimised Odysseys
Toyota opens Woven City as a living lab for future lifestyles

News

Toyota opens Woven City as a living lab for future lifestyles

Toyota has opened its experimental Woven City at the base of Mount Fuji, creating a testbed where residents live alongside prototypes of emerging t...
Technology : Design : Toyota
Stella McCartney launches luxury live-stream shopping platform

News

Stella McCartney launches luxury live-stream shopping platform

Stella McCartney has introduced Shop With Stella, an interactive shopping event co-hosted by actor Eva Mendes and powered by Swedish video commerce...
Retail : Luxury : Livestream
Stat: The fashion industry’s hottest climate risk is factory workers’ health

News

Stat: The fashion industry’s hottest climate risk is factory workers’ health

A September 2025 report by the Fashion Revolution movement reveals that the fashion industry is failing to measure dangerous factory temperatures, ...
Fashion : Sustainability : Stat
Claude’s Keep Thinking campaign positions AI agent as problem-solving tool

News

Claude’s Keep Thinking campaign positions AI agent as problem-solving tool

In a new campaign entitled Keep Thinking, AI agent Claude is framed as the go-to tool for problem-solvers.
AI : Co-creation : Campaign
You have 1 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN