Most people who've lived abroad for some time will tell you that after a while it's the familiar things that jump out at you rather than the unusual. When I first saw the black and white LUSH sign amongst all the Spanish shop fronts along Calle Fuencarral I was immediately tempted to step inside. It's a similar feeling to when you're in a foreign supermarket and spot a brand from back home; you often pick it up even if you don't end up buying it.
For years I had walked straight past the LUSH shop in my home town. I have a particularly sensitive sense of smell and the tidal wave of sweet fragrance billowing out onto the street was enough to keep me moving. The windows were also always piled high with bath bombs; a product I've never really been all that interested in.
That morning in Madrid, however, was different. In the mood for a bit of "England" I pushed open the shop door and discovered a brand that has kept me thinking ever since. The first thing I noticed was how unbelievably popular the shop was; you could hardly move for customers weaving between the display stands and lining up alongside the tills. A shop assistant sprang out of nowhere and asked if I needed any help. 10 minutes later I'd had at least 3 different lotions and potions smoothed into the backs of my hands to demonstrate their scents and moisturising powers. LUSH's product range is varied and includes a vast array of skin care, hair care and shower products. Far from just a pile of bath bombs...
As a brand LUSH is unique, with a set of values that have become almost a way of life for some: the products it sells and the personality it promotes is unlike anything else on the high street. LUSH differentiates itself from its competitors by offering an alternative to the synthetic, chemical-laden products that can be found in Boots or Superdrug. Perhaps its closest competitor, the Body Shop, though also promoting the use of natural ingredients, is left behind by LUSH's "fresh" promise. LUSH products are handmade, free from preservatives and are all labelled with an expiry date. They also experiment with innovative product formulations; shampoo and shower gel is available in liquid, solid, jelly or paper form. Price range is wide allowing everyone to take home a bit of LUSH.
The most important aspect of LUSH as a brand is what it stands for. A philosophy of ethical buying, reduced packaging, cruelty free products, organic ingredients, vegetarian formulations, recycling and contributing to charity initiatives makes this the most feel-good store on the high street. LUSH does not advertise. Instead a host of self titled "lushies" or "lush addicts" fill online platforms with a never ending stream of LUSH related content. The brand's gorgeous visuals, bright colours and sleek, black, oh-so-collectable packaging, could have been made for Instagram.
The Madrid store is just one of 11 others in business in Spain. In 2014 LUSH had 102 stores open in the UK while Japan houses an astonishing 153. This brand seems to be truly transferable to other markets. Protecting the environment, fighting animal testing and the use of fresh, natural products are concepts that consumers in most European countries are fully behind. In Asia however, the fashion is for the beauty industry to focus on cutting edge science and complex formulas. It seems that LUSH has found a way around this by highlighting the novelty of its products. In the land of Hello Kitty and Pikachu, sweet smelling, brightly coloured bath bombs in the shape of Easter bunnies and glittery hearts are sure to strike a chord.
LUSH has recently expanded into perfume, spa-treatments and make up. Now with over 900 international stores, great transferability to other markets and an enviable relationship with its customers I'm excited to see what they come up with next.
It's now the 29th of December and another Christmas has been and gone. Everyone is looking ahead to the New Year and their plans for parties, new year's resolutions and heading back to wherever they call home during term time. With yuletide festivities now just a hazy memory it seems the perfect time to review this year's Spanish and English Christmas advert offering.
1. John Lewis - This was the big one; the one we were all waiting for. John Lewis has a brilliant track record for making emotive, heartwarming Christmas adverts that make us smile or even bring us to tears. Who could forget last year's penguin story or 2012's snowman romance?
I'm sorry to say then that for me this year's advert was a bit of a flop. John Lewis's partnership with the charity Age UK led them to create an ad centred around the idea of including elderly people at Christmas. While stargazing, a young girl spies a man on the moon, old, lonely and forgotten. The end of the advert sees her managing to send him a telescope via balloon so that he can see all the Christmas fun on earth...going on without him.
Instead of the rescue and joyful meeting I was holding out for, the poor old man is still left up there in the cold - a strangely weak and unsatisfactory ending. 6/10
2. Sainsbury's - This year Sainsbury's gave us "Mog's Christmas Calamity". Mog is the fictional feline creation of the author Judith Kerr whose other books including "The Tiger Who Came to Tea" were some of my favourites as a kid.
The ad shows the cartoon cat Mog sleeping in her basket on Christmas eve. She wakes to find the kitchen full of smoke as the turkey is incinerated in the oven; cue a spot of cat slap stick as she panics wreaking havoc through the house. Accidentally calling 999 Mog "saves the day" and the family escape unscathed.
I was a bit confused by this advert; the parents sob on each others' shoulders in their soot blackened kitchen and then are all smiles again as the local families arrive bearing bags of satsumas... It would take more than a satsuma to sort me out if my house ever burnt down I can tell you! 6/10
3. Marks and Spencer - Who doesn't remember the "this isn't just Christmas food...this is M&S Christmas food" of years gone by? In my opinion M&S make the best food adverts I've ever seen; everything just looks so delicious! In the world of fashion and homeware though they seem to lag behind a bit... This year's offering was a short, sharp burst of sparkling confetti, prowling catwalk models, backflipping children and a fiery christmas pudding. I like it. It may not be the best advert in the world but their "Art of Christmas" makes a change from all the other nostalgic, traditional ads on offer. Colourful, fun and slick M&S stood out for me this year. 8/10
4. Tesco - There's not much to say about Tesco's 2015 Christmas ads. They follow a family doing their Christmas shopping; mother, father and their cretinous teenage son. The humour is simple and somewhat grating. The characters are stereotypical and the script wooden. I'm not sure what Tesco were going for with this; how can they expect to compete with other retailers if their advertising is at this level? 4/10
5. Harvey Nichols - From bad to worse. Harvey Nichols hasn't exactly filled me with Christmassy joy for the last couple of years with their "Sorry, I spent it on myself" and "Could I be any clearer?" adverts. They reduce the entirety of Christmas down to gift giving, not in a warm fuzzy way but rather a cold hearted, miserly way. "A little something for them means a bigger something for you" was their strapline in 2013...you get the picture.
This year they've treated us to "Avoid #GiftFace". A young woman struggles to keep a smile on her face while her family and boyfriend present her with their carefully chosen gifts at Christmas. The hashtag is irritating enough but the lack of gratitude, utter selfishness and sheer spoilt brattery of this advert is difficult to swallow. Perhaps an attempt to connect with a younger audience, this advert is a definite failure for me. 2/10
6. La Lotería de Navidad - The Spanish look out for the release of the Christmas Lotería advert in the same way we wait to see what John Lewis will bring us each year. The lottery in Spain is extremely popular with almost everyone buying a ticket for the Christmas draw when I was in Madrid last year. In my opinion this advert beats John Lewis' "man on the moon" hands down.
Justino is a nightime security guard in a factory that makes mannequins. Made in the same animated style as the pixar movie UP the ad shows how Justino lives a fairly lonely life sleeping all day but leaving lovely surprises for his daytime colleagues during his night shift. Like all offices in Spain at Christmas the workers have put their names down and entered the "Lotería de Navidad". They win and the office is full of excitement. Justino arrives at work that evening downcast but finds that they've signed him up too and he can take part in the celebrations with them. The look on his square, mustachioed face is what Christmas is all about. I'm not ashamed to say I was welling up by the end; this ad was most definitely my favourite out of all of 2015's offerings. 9/10
Well that's it for my roundup of the 2015 Christmas adverts; I wonder what next year will bring. Which was your favourite? Comment below!
