News 27.05.2025

News

Electrolux launches campaign based on Swedish culture and values, The Maze redefines hospitality with a mindset-first, alcohol-free model and Brits spend £439m a month to skip ads.

Electrolux launches campaign based on Swedish culture and values

Tough being Beautiful Campaign by Electrolux, Sweden, film released in Europe and Australia

Australia, Europe Multinational home appliance manufacturer Electrolux has launched a campaign celebrating core Swedish design values. The Tough being Beautiful ad leans into themes championed by its award-winning SaphirMatt Hob.

Developed by Publicis London, the campaign includes a 45-second film that highlights Swedish cultural pillars such as durability, simplicity and a connection to nature.

‘Tough being Beautiful is more than a campaign — it’s a statement of what Electrolux stands for: pride in our Swedish heritage,’ said Nikos Bartzoulianos, Electrolux group chief marketing officer.

We explored how brands are increasingly expected to act as cultural custodians in our Luxury Recrafted macrotrend. This latest campaign reflects a broader shift toward emotional storytelling as a tool for reinforcing authenticity and heritage.

Launching this month, the campaign spans tv, digital, retail and e-commerce, and will roll out across Australia and key European markets.

Strategic opportunity

Heritage-led storytelling can drive distinctiveness in a crowded luxury market, especially when rooted in cultural authenticity. Explore the shifting consumer expectations around identity and meaning in our New Codes of Value report

Sober living meets social connection at NYC’s new members’ club The Maze

US – New York City is set to welcome its first alcohol-free members’ club The Maze in autumn 2025.

Located in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, the venue comprises a New American restaurant, a high-end coffee bar, flexible event areas and lounges. The Maze aims to provide a space where individuals embracing an alcohol-free lifestyle can connect and socialise without compromise.

Founded by Justin Gurland, who has been sober since the age of 25, the club aims to normalise intentional living and connection beyond alcohol. ‘At The Maze, we’re not just removing alcohol – we’re reimagining what it means to belong,’ says Gurland in a press release. ‘It’s a place where you can thrive without the pressures of traditional socialising, embracing a lifestyle centred around mindfulness and purpose.’

The launch of The Maze signals a broader evolution in hospitality – one in which purpose-led lifestyles are taking precedence over traditional markers of luxury. As explored in our Sober Social Fix and Sober Bars reports, new spaces are emerging where mindset comes first – whether that’s sobriety, health optimisation or intentional living – with social connection built in as a meaningful, but secondary, layer. Remedy Place exemplifies this shift, offering wellness-first experiences that enable like-minded people to connect around shared values, not shared vices.

The Maze, New York, US

Strategic opportunity

As hospitality shifts from indulgence to intentionality, brands can tap into mindset-led communities such as the sober-curious by creating spaces rooted in shared values and meaningful connection. See our Communities page for more on values-driven consumer groups.

Stat: Brits Spend £439m a month to skip ads on top streaming platforms

Photography by Andres Ayrton Photography by Andres Ayrton

UK – Consumers are spending more than £439m ($589m, €521.2m) each month, over £4.8bn ($6.4bn, €5.7bn) annually, on ad-free streaming, according to new data from finance comparison site Finder. Nearly three in five UK adults (58%), or 31m people, now pay to avoid adverts across major platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Spotify. 

Netflix tops the list, with 39% of Brits, approximately 21m people, paying an extra £7 ($9.39, €8.3) monthly for an ad-free experience, totalling £150m ($201.3m, €178m) a month. Based on average watch times, this equates to £1m ($1.34m, €1.19m) spent for every minute of adverts skipped. 

Spotify Premium subscribers spend £127.7m ($171.3m, €151.6m) monthly to listen without interruption, while Disney+ users shell out £44.8m ($60.1m, €53.1m) to go ad-free. 

Despite this, ad-supported tiers are gaining traction. Netflix’s ad-tier subscriptions rose 24% in late 2024 and Disney+ saw a 25% jump. 

Read our Content Commerce and Home States Futures: Residential Retail reports to discover how the home is evolving from a sanctuary of comfort and security into a dynamic hub of commerce, seamlessly integrated with retail innovation. 

Strategic opportunity

Develop partnerships with streaming platforms to create scan-to-shop experiences during key moments in shows using visual recognition tech, creating a seamless ad experience that viewers won’t want to skip 

Previous News Articles
Brazil pilots world-first data wallet to let citizens profit from digital footprint

News

Brazil pilots world-first data wallet to let citizens profit from digital footprint

Brazil is launching a groundbreaking pilot that could transform personal data into a national asset. The dWallet initiative means that citizens can...
Technology : Data : FinTech
Stat: Gen Z is prioritising climate-conscious careers

News

Stat: Gen Z is prioritising climate-conscious careers

A new survey by Capgemini and UNICEF reveals the extent to which climate concerns are shaping young people’s career ambitions.
Nature : Work : Sustainability
Viva Technology 2025: AI client relationships, algorithmic dating futures and the new creator economy

News

Viva Technology 2025: AI client relationships, algorithmic dating futures and the new creator economy

On day three of Viva Technology in Paris, brand leaders gathered at the CMO Summit to explore how human insight and intelligent technology are resh...
Technology : Global Events : Viva Tech 2025
Viva Technology 2025: Personalised agency, circular retail and regulatory momentum

News

Viva Technology 2025: Personalised agency, circular retail and regulatory momentum

On day two of Viva Technology in Paris, the spotlight turned to the potential of personalised health data and the policies driving circular innovat...
Technology : Global Events : Viva Tech 2025
Foresight Friday: Alice Crossley, senior foresight analyst

News

Foresight Friday: Alice Crossley, senior foresight analyst

Every Friday, we offer an end-of-week wrap-up of the topics, issues, ideas and virals we’re all talking about. This week, senior foresight ana...
Foresight Friday : Time : Friction
Stat: Beauty industry faces slower growth amid shifting consumer landscape

News

Stat: Beauty industry faces slower growth amid shifting consumer landscape

The global beauty industry, valued at £325bn ($441bn, €382bn), is entering a period of slower growth and is projected to expand by 5% annually unti...
Beauty : Luxury : Economy
Viva Technology 2025: AI in healthcare, building resilient cities and phygital fashion experiences

News

Viva Technology 2025: AI in healthcare, building resilient cities and phygital fashion experiences

As Viva Technology 2025 opened in Paris, speakers explored how technology can be used to address and help solve global challenges in healthcare, tr...
Technology : Global Events : Viva Tech 2025
TikTok creator Brandon Edelman re-imagines brand trips with Bran Trip

News

TikTok creator Brandon Edelman re-imagines brand trips with Bran Trip

TikTok creator Brandon Edelman (@bran_flakezz) has launched the first-ever Bran Trip – a fan-focused spin on the traditional influencer brand trip.
Pop Culture : Brand Trips : Influencer Culture
Stat: Young travellers prioritise the journey as much as the destination

News

Stat: Young travellers prioritise the journey as much as the destination

Nearly three-quarters (70%) of Millennials and Gen Z say they prefer to plan trips that focus on enjoying the journey as much as the destination, o...
Travel : Travel & Hospitality : Gen Z
Mud is rewilding the pet grooming industry

News

Mud is rewilding the pet grooming industry

London-based start-up Mud™ is making a clean break from the polished pet aesthetic dominating the market.
Society : Design : Pets
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