Brands have an impact on the collective imagination.
The influence that big brands exert on our way of thinking and behaving is undeniable.
For as long as consumer society has existed, brands, through their communication and actions, have contributed to changing perceptions, normalising realities and promoting social progress on numerous occasions. We talk about the incorporation of women into the labour market, gay marriage, the urgency of acting against climate change, etc.
Because brands bring to the fore not only products, but also values and lifestyles. Although it is consumers who push brands to embrace change, it is brands who raise their voices and bring their resources into play.
Brands are a true reflection of the societies in which they live and what they seek, at the end of the day, is for consumers to identify with them. This is a natural evolution, almost a virtuous circle, with brands becoming more and less courageous in launching actions and joining the conversation.
Its aspirational component motivates and empowers to change things. Even if it is for the sake of consumerism, brands ‘sell’ us that everything is within everyone’s reach, wherever you come from. And that has a great mobilising power.
They break taboos, they show open societies, they show our best face and, in short, they tell us that change is possible. In a way, they become an engine of social evolution.