5 useful paradoxes in American culture (and what to do about them)
Truth often lies in paradoxes. I forget where i read this, but it feels... er, true.
The fine folks at Early Studies have done another mega data drop, and i spent some time looking and probing and asking questions about the data to try and make sense of what the hell might happen in the next four years across the US.
First off, plenty of other folks have already spent a good portion of time showing things are... not rosy. Division, polarisation, all the usual stuff. So i quickly moved away from that, and instead started doing more of a meta analysis of it all.
I got to two questions:
Where are the biggest paradoxes in the data? (Paradoxes often give you more truth and tension which is actually useful for us to do something about it, especially if we work in advertising or marketing more broadly.)
Where are the gaps between those paradoxes going down? (Which means we can expect some trajectory towards unification, even if small, but hey progress is made up of little steps, so best to look at long-term incrementality.)
Here's where i got to that feels interesting, plus also a first attempt at, to quote Kevin Chesters, separate the interesting from the useful. AKA, how we can help resolve some of these tensions through our work as strategists and marketers.
5 useful paradoxes
Cultural Diversity vs. Traditional Values
Gap reduction: 9.7 points
2021: 47.8% vs 28.0% (19.8 point gap)
2029: 45.8% vs 35.7% (10.1 point gap)
Individual Rights vs. Community Aid
Gap reduction: 3.8 points
2021: 74.4% vs 33.5% (40.9 point gap)
2029: 76.7% vs 39.6% (37.1 point gap)
Hard Work Success vs. Inequality
Gap reduction: 3.1 points
2021: 54.1% vs 16.3% (37.8 point gap)
2029: 55.6% vs 20.9% (34.7 point gap)
Supplements vs. Return to Nature
Gap reduction: 1.4 points
2021: 45.5% vs 32.6% (12.9 point gap)
2029: 55.1% vs 43.6% (11.5 point gap)
Personal Freedom vs. Shared Prosperity
Gap reduction: 1.2 points
2021: 45.1% vs 36.8% (8.3 point gap)
2029: 48.8% vs 41.8% (7.1 point gap)
So what?
Some initial observations of how brands can show up effectively through their ads and acts:
There is a meta theme around cohesion and interconnectedness that is sorely needed. Positioning your role as something that can help with a both-and mentality would help reduce the temperature, and if you do it in a distinctive way you’ll likely be remembered for it (which is the first hurdle of course). A good example of this done consistently, and well, is the Australian Lamb advertising work.
Specifically on the cultural diversity vs traditional values point, the ability to blend classic and contemporary codes feels rich too. Salmon Crew member Alexi has written well about how fashion companies are using older models to attract younger cohorts, and this ability to translate the old fashioned to new fashion codes works quite well. See also: the boom boom aesthetic, a superbly useful read, and most episodes of Chef’s Table on Netflix, where after a while the trope becomes that the most innovative chefs in the world are adding insane new twists to classic dishes.
Individual rights vs community aid (as well as personal freedom vs shared prosperity) take me to the importance of studying mental health and psychotherapy in order to understand others and ourselves. One of the great truths about caring for others is you can only really do it sustainably and resiliently if you’re already taking good care of yourself. In that sense, there is a strong narrative i’d like to see more of around how a brand (say, someone in finance) can help individuals help others. This may be idealistic and ignoring the role of greed, but as far as a narrative goes, it feels like a healthy way to resolve our increased focus on individualism. The other equally valid point of view comes from the African proverb that “it takes a village to raise a child”. In the Arnold Schwarzenegger documentary, he talks about being many things but a self-made man is not one of them, because he needed support from many individuals to get to where he is. We need more shared narratives like this.
On hard work vs inequality, i can’t help but go back to the importance of explaining the difference between equality and equity. Equality presumes everyone should be treated the same no matter what. Equity presumes everyone should be treated fairly based on circumstances. If someone has a physically disabled child, equity means their nursery ensures the right conditions for them to be able to move around with support, instead of insisting they need to move like everyone else. This is not an easy concept or difference to explain to time poor audiences in a highly compressed amount of time, but this is where we can challenge a creative team to use simple analogies and metaphors to land the point. From a narrative around “anyone can succeed”, and one around “anyone deserves a fair shoot at success”. It feels like more brands could focus on this without necessarily entering the purpose-wagon.
The supplements vs return to nature paradox could unlock opportunities for wellness brands to adopt what we may call “health bothism”. The thought is that instead of creating tribal enemies out of competing products, you make the lack of moderation and integration the real enemy. Nature gives you a generalist baseline, and supplements are top ups to maximise more specialised needs. It’s a bit like being Joe “The Body Coach” Wicks and saying you can be healthy at a broad level, and also love a juicy burger, and both being core parts of your daily life. Or, alternatively, consider how scientific understanding can actually help us better unpack the wisdom you find in natural products, leading to businesses like ZOE.
In summary
The above are just hypotheticals and thought experiments (and please send me your own by emailing rob@salmonlabs.co!), but i hope you’ll see the value in searching for paradoxes in the data, instead of following blind confirmation.
It’s genuinely where the most interesting and useful thinking tends to happen, partly because it’s where things get uncomfortable as well. And because it can get uncomfortable, others will choose not to go there, which leaves room for you to do it and maximise your odds of standing out.
