Goodbye Anita Roddick
I media trained Anita Roddick. Must be well over ten years ago and we managed to have a row right from the start. I had been called in to gnaw over the issue of animal testing. The Body Shop always claimed they did no animal testing on their products. But of course, these were weasel words. They may not have done any animal testing, but some of the ingredients that make up their products have to have been animal tested by law– or they did then.
The company was uncomfortable with this and needed to work out a defence. So I was summoned to the Body Shop HQ somewhere behind Oxford Street to give Anita a hard time.
Anybody who met Anita Roddick will know that giving Anita a hard time was rash, even when she said, ‘John, I want you to give me a hard time.’ But I did and she bit right back. Nobody was going to attack her integrity, even when the company themselves were paying me to do it..
‘OK old girl’, I thought to myself, pulling a half used bottle of my wife’s Body Shop moisturiser out of my pocket. I’ll get you now!’
‘Right, while I’ve got you here Anita, just explain how you can justify saying this stuff contains 100% natural ingredients and charge (I don’t remember how much) when its actually 70% water?
‘Well, water’s natural isn’t it,’ she replied quick as flash.