Marketing trends for the forseeable future reunite us with the myths and fantasies from which we’ve become disconnected in this time-pressed, sleep-deprived “Survival of the Fastest” era.

Designers and entertainers especially increasingly draw inspiration from the deep well of human myth…i.e. Norse, Celtic and Arthurian legend, etc., to create brands and entertainment for consumers whose personal lives are devoid of a sense of mystery, awe and magic. These alternate realities harness iconic imagery that pleasantly distracts us from our increasingly harried lives.
 
WB-TV’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the precursor to this trend and its spin-off Angel; and “Witchblade,” whose heroine, Sara Pezzini, is a supernaturally gifted detective.
 
The overwhelming success of “Harry Potter” and “The Lord of the Rings” with adults, and kids, indicates a rising cultural fascination with the unknown, a yearning for escape and a poignant, utopian idealism of good vs. evil.
 
According to literature professors Dr. Joseph Pearce, in a recent New York Times article, “There is a deep disquiet among people today that stems from the artificiality of modern life. Some people dream of a society free from machinery and technology, one that stresses human relations… over a reliance on cell phones, pagers and computers is, to some extent, breaking down the bonds between people.”
 
Three years ago, Toniq noted that “connection” has become technological, rather than an emotional, promise.
 
Myths and legends are our shared connection, uniting us across time and generations. Myths are borne in our subconscious, based on archetypes of human dynamics, and live through the generations in our collective psyche, Carl Jung’s “collective unconscious.”
 
In the past, such human lore was communicated through stories. Today these stories take a visual narrative, distilled to their iconic essence for use in brand communications.