Brands in Britain: A year in which creativity can inspire unity

I love TV. A good series can encapsulate the issues our society faces better than any article, news item or think piece like this. 

They also connect people. I recently found myself bonding with a taxi driver with dubious views on immigration, but excellent taste in TV about ‘Industry’, specifically the finale of season three. 

Yasmin finds herself caught in a romantic catch-22, the choice between Henry, the startup upstart, who’s dripping in the trappings of the landed gentry, with an ego that bounces around the echoey corridors of inherited wealth. And the alluring pull of working-class uncertainty, Rob, a cheeky Chappy with cheekbones to match the bumps in the road he’s overcome. We were all rooting for Rob. [Spoiler alert] She plumps for the former; “you had me at net-a-porter” Yasmin says, in one of the most brilliantly branded statements of genetic snobbery that’s ever been on TV.  

Both me and my cabbie were aghast at this decision, and in agreement that, with its continual nods to the unseen political influence of the rich, the series was a glaring emblem for the division that infects Britain today. 

A recent study by the Fairness Foundation, ‘Inequality Knocks’, showed that 63 per cent believe the very rich have too much influence on UK politics. Understandable when the wealth gap in assets between the richest and poorest 10 per cent of the UK increased by 48 per cent between 2011 and 2019 from £7.5 trillion to £11 trillion

One of the greatest risks of this wealth gap, according to the report was on social cohesion. With so much wealth being ‘unearned’, the fairness of our society in question, and trust is eroding in the government's ‘business model’, divisions are increasing as people seek solace in populist factions. 

The report says; “We live in a society where belonging to a particular group is becoming more important than competence or service delivery. This manifests through growing polarisation  between different social groups, the rising prominence of conspiracy theories, and the breakdown of traditional community structures”

What’s more as human’s we’re hardwired to favor our own individualism. From adolescent egocentrism, the state of self-absorption where teens believe that their thoughts, feelings, and experiences are unique (more commonly understood by parents as the screams of “no one understands me!”) to our more adult preference towards a ‘false uniqueness bias’. 

So, what can adland do to break these bias’s, and repair the fissures in our cultural fabric? 

At our worst we exacerbate the issue with our fetishisation of the ‘Gens’, the seduction of segmentation, being bloodhounds for difference, desperately seeking specificity and its alluring efficiencies. 

VML, has recently refocussed on fighting for connection, by taking up an activist mindset. This new mode of thinking and creating forces us to fight against the status quo and seek to create genuine change.  

The change we need to fight for right now is this; finding power in inclusive ideas. 2025 needs to be a year in which creativity can inspire unity. 

This is where the more ‘mass’ brands get it right.  In speaking to ‘everyone’ they are forced to find and tap into the truths that unite audiences. To tap into the concepts we can all resonate with. 

Whether it’s the empathy at the heart of Boots, the kindness in Coca-Cola’s Christmas sentiments, or HSBC’s dedication to openness and opportunity, universality shouldn’t be something we fear but embrace. 

Especially when the creativity they inspire has the power to create conversation and connections that can bridge divides. Jim Carroll, used to have an expression, ‘beware the mountaintop’ - don’t climb so high to find these higher order concepts that you lose connection with the ground below. 

I agree, but if we remain grounded in what a brand can genuinely deliver, and fight for creativity that earns attention through entertainment, then like the best content out there; we have the power to connect across class, wealth, and cultural boundaries, and bring Britain together through brands. 

After all, you may not agree with your taxi driver’s politics, but you’ve probably got some very similar thoughts on what was the best Christmas ad.  

In cash strapped times – our industry can also play a role in ensuring we’re giving value back to consumers, through more rewarding products, interactions, experiences and by being the compass to navigate them toward the brands and services that are additive to their lives, and that don’t put them unnecessarily out of pocket.  

If we focussed on that perhaps we can all feel a bit more pride when the cabbie then asks us what we do for a living.

Kate Nettleton is VML UK's head of strategy