Has Lush really quit social media?
Lush, the much-loved British Cosmetics Retailer, has announced that they are quitting some of the biggest social media. Instead, they will take their strategies to the next or previous level.
They plan on bringing back product catalogues and real-life events, which means that they are taking themselves out of the counterproductive social media agony and back into connecting with their customers in a more real way.
Vogue spoke to the Chief Digital Officer of Lush, Jack Constantine, who spoke about how the counterproductivity of their brand being on social media affected their overall morals as a company.
“Social media was not designed to look after people’s health, but our products are. It is counter-intuitive for us to use platforms that keep you hyper-tense, engaged and anxious.”
Pros and Cons
We all know that every social media has its pros and cons. The main con for all platforms seems to be that the impossible beauty and living standards, from what people buy and what people own to what they look like and how they dress, continue to damage the mental health and subsequently the physical health of not just the customers but anyone who views the advertisements.
Lush has made it a point over their existence to campaign for the subjects they are passionate about, such as being against animal cruelty and sticking up for gay rights. This has sparked much debate on social media, as people who do not share these beliefs have fought against them.
They don’t want to fight those trolls online but instead want to connect with their customers and spread their passion and goodwill for others in a new age of customer-based platforms.
When you look at the media, from social to physical, you can see how there’s a negative voice throughout many famous campaigns and advertising styles. The media shows that men must be muscled to be desired or that women must be thin with accentuated particular features to be deemed good enough. There is a long line of subliminal messages that people don’t realise can be quite harmful. The over-sexualisation and dominance of men over women seem to be a common thread, where the woman is made to be a submissive object rather than a human.
Is advertising hurting the product and company?
Advertisements are a direct visual representation of who you are as a company. Many companies follow a script of straight-washing, white-washing and fatphobia to sell this ‘wantable lifestyle’ alongside their products.
However, this isn’t many people’s real life. Human beings vary in shapes, sizes, genders, religions, races and sexualities. The bottom line is that real humans and real life are not seen in everyday advertising campaigns, which has social consequences.
Customers would rather buy from a company that they know believes in them, who they are, and who targets their campaigns toward the real people of this world.
Bo Burnham, who started off as a widely known online presence with funny videos and songs and is now a comedian and award-winning songwriter and director, has had his weigh-in on the effects of social media throughout his career.
In 2021, he released a Netflix special called ‘Inside’ where one of these songs touches on the subject of the internet. ‘Welcome to the Internet’ runs through the many different things you can find online, good and bad.
What are your thoughts on social media? And, in particular, Lush’s stance.
Let us know in the comments below.
