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
Cash App taps Timothée Chalamet for youth-friendly money talk

News

Cash App taps Timothée Chalamet for youth-friendly money talk

Cash App has launched an integrated brand campaign featuring Academy Award-nominated actor Timothée Chalamet which aims to foster intergenerational...
Finance : Gen Z : Youth
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, ...
Beauty : The Synthocene Era : Virtual Beauty
Stat: Southeast Asia is TikTok’s largest advertising audience

News

Stat: Southeast Asia is TikTok’s largest advertising audience

Southeast Asia now accounts for nearly a quarter of TikTok’s global advertising audience, according to the Digital 2025: July Statshot report.
Statistic : Stat : Southeast Asia
Spktrl’s AI diamond ring aims to cut screen time

News

Spktrl’s AI diamond ring aims to cut screen time

Parisian start-up Spktrl is reimagining wearable technology with the launch of its AI-powered Light Ring, a piece of high jewellery designed to cur...
Wellness : Augmented Human : The Synthocene Era
Represent launches in-person fitness competition 247 Mission Rivington

News

Represent launches in-person fitness competition 247 Mission Rivington

British fashion brand Represent has held its first-ever fitness event, 247 Mission Rivington, with 100 athletes competing in a 12‑hour endurance ch...
Sport : Fashion : Fitness
Stat: Technological innovation is driving the future of beauty

News

Stat: Technological innovation is driving the future of beauty

Wealth divides, digital tools and regional identity are reshaping the international beauty market, according to The State of Fashion: Beauty Volume...
Statistic : Stat : Beauty
AI-generated images of animals in plastic help WWF-Korea raise awareness about pollution

News

AI-generated images of animals in plastic help WWF-Korea raise awareness about pollution

WWF-Korea has launched Animal Trash Fashion, a powerful out-of-home campaign using AI to starkly illustrate the devastating impact of plastic pollu...
Sustainability : Design : Advertising
Rixo launches pre-loved resale platform

News

Rixo launches pre-loved resale platform

British fashion brand Rixo is expanding its circular ambitions with the launch of Rixo Pre-Loved, a resale platform where customers buy and sell it...
Retail : Fashion : Sutainability
Stat: Global business travel spending hits historic high

News

Stat: Global business travel spending hits historic high

Business travel is set to reach a record £1.18 trillion ($1.57 trillion, €1.36 trillion) by the end of 2025, according to ...
Stat : Statistic : Global Travel Market
Axe gamifies fragrance sampling with arcade-inspired bus stop activation

News

Axe gamifies fragrance sampling with arcade-inspired bus stop activation

Axe is making fragrance sampling fun again with a new campaign for its Cherry Fizz body spray.
Advertising : Fragrance : Retail
You have 2 free News articles remaining. Sign up to LS:N Global to get unlimited access to all articles.
BECOME A MEMBER
SIGN IN