LONDON —Swedish brand Lelo announced that it has launched the U.K.’s first-ever interactive high street display window to advertise sex toys.
The 3-D, moving display adorns the shop window of the flagship outlet of erotic boutique Harmony on London’s Oxford Street, one of the U.K.’s busiest shopping thoroughfares.
Entitled “Pleasures That Dreams Are Made Of,” the display depicts a woman wistfully considering different "fantasies," encased in bubbles hanging from the ceiling. It also features some of Lelo’s top-selling products.
“Unlike the majority of brands in British high streets, the law puts us in the position of not actually being able to display our products in their entirety,” said Steve Thomson, LELO global marketing director. “Not ones to shy away from a challenge, we’re very pleased with this latest display — it marks a huge step forward in official acceptance of a luxury intimate lifestyle brand such as LELO. We’re thrilled U.K. laws recognize and support this stylish approach to pleasure.”
A Lelo official clarified: current U.K. laws ban sex toy advertisement in public. Knowing this, the company instead chose to display their "pleasure objects" within their packaging, in addition to its accessories range of silk and suede blindfolds, handcuffs, pleasure ties and teasers.
A week following the installation, Lelo reports that the display has received the seal of approval from Westminster Council. Harmony also reported a “buzz” of shoppers surrounding its shop window and an increase in sales.
To watch a video clip featuring the Lelo/Harmony display on YouTube, click here.
Despite growing restrictions on adult content and the Prime Minister’s recent crackdown on internet porn, the U.K. remains the third biggest consumer of sex toys per head in the world; more than 40 percent of U.K. women own a sex toy, according to the Global Sex Toy Index by the Hewson Group.
