The American Dream is in crisis—but creativity could help

It’s hard to imagine any industry not having to contend with the deepening sociopolitical division in America—brand marketing included.

McCann Worldgroup’s intelligence unit Truth Central creates studies on what their clients are grappling with including data privacy, wellness, and Gen Z. And the past few years have paved a clear path toward their latest study: The Truth About America, which the team exclusively unveiled this weekend at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW.

“We saw that not just our clients in America but our clients everywhere were asking more and more questions about America. What is going on in this moment? How do we navigate this market?” says Laura Simpson, chief intelligence officer of McCann Worldgroup and president of McCann Truth Central. “I think other markets always look to America for a lead on some of those issues. So when it feels like things are changing, I think everywhere clients want to understand why it’s changing and how it’s changing and how they should be responding.”

And what’s evolving is the idea of the American Dream.

Concerns of inflation, the war of DEI, automation, and more have made 72% of Americans believe there’s never been a more complicated time to be an American, according to the study. And that sentiment has contributed to what the study calls the “Dream Gap,” the growing divide between what Americans want out of life versus the actual accessibility to those aspirations.

While 52% of Americans believe the American Dream still exists today, 70% say it’s harder to get ahead no matter how hard they work. Deeper still, 77% of Americans believe the country still provides good opportunities, but they’re becoming more concentrated among fewer people.

Despite the division, McCann’s study asserts there are forces that are holding the country together, namely creativity, which 88% of respondents said has the power to unite people.

“We know creativity is a strong force capable of bridging divides and helping to shape the future of our country,” says Elly Dembo, global head of data and intelligence at McCann. “And we believe that brands have the power to reignite a culture of creativity in America again.”

“Brands have, to some extent, always existed to show people what could be: Here is a vision, a world, a dream, something that you could aspire to,” Simpson adds. “That tension between dreaming and reality and frustrations has been really pronounced in America over the last few years. And we want to be in a position to help guide our clients: How much should you be dialing up dream and aspiration versus being more of a mirror to the reality of what people are experiencing in their daily lives?”

You can find the full results of The Truth About American study here.

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