In Hayley Moeller’s blog post on Lush Cosmetics, she discusses their controversial marketing strategies surrounding the topic of animal cruelty. Specifically, Lush Cosmetics did a campaign where an “artist is being subjected to force feeding, injections, and discomfort, just as animals that undergo testing in cosmetic labs are” (Hayley Moeller). I understand that Lush Cosmetics are positioning their brand to be an “animal cruelty-free” company but from an avid Lush Cosmetics consumer, this specific marketing campaign makes me detest the brand. Although they are exposing the harsh cosmetic testing strategies used on animals, I don’t understand what makes it right to use the same strategies on a human being. If I was a potential customer and I saw this Lush campaign, I would feel uncomfortable and would not purchase their products. If Lush Cosmetics were an animal rights organization, this may have been a good strategy to reveal the hidden horrors of cosmetic animal abuse. However, Lush Cosmetics is a business, and businesses exist to make money; this campaign simply scares and turns customers off. From the perspective of a current Lush user, I agree with Hayley on this topic and I personally declare this as a marketing failure.
Blog Post Source: https://blogs.ubc.ca/hayleymoeller/2014/09/15/lush-cosmetics-human-guinea-pig-cruelty-or-advocacy/
Photo Source: http://www.lush.ca