The Big Think: Heaven Knows We’re Miserable Now
“I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour / But heaven knows I'm miserable now,” goes The Smiths’ lyric, suggesting that those doing Dry January are suffering double.
If you’re feeling more melancholy than usual, it might have something to do with the third Monday of January looming ahead, a day that’s been known as ‘Blue Monday’ – or the most depressing day of the year – since 2005. Now, Blue Monday is very much a social construct; one constructed by this very industry. The idea was first disseminated in a press release from Sky Travel and the date was calculated using an ‘formula’ that looked at factors like weather, debt, time since Christmas, and motivation levels.
If that sounds like pseudoscience that’s because it is, but we can’t ignore society’s nihilistic turn as of recently. There’s the climate crisis doomsday clock, political polarisation, and growing income inequality; many people are even turning their back on dating. Ostensibly, living through ‘polycrisis’ or ‘permacrisis’, high inflation, enshittification, and a host of other depressing buzzwords that capture the mood of today, isn’t putting a smile on anyone’s face. Oh, and we have AI ‘slop’ to contend with now too. Research backs this up: According to Ipsos, only 31% of people say they’re optimistic about the world in general over the next 12 months, and people are finding that traditional milestones and aspirations are increasingly out of reach.
So what are brands doing? Should they be doing anything? Confidence and optimism drive activity, what do brands do when no one feels up for anything? Can brands find a role in cheering people up, or is that a surefire way to irritate people even more? Or perhaps there are different ways to approach the tension and pessimism.
LBB’s Zhenya Tsenzharyk posed this conundrum to the industry’s leaders – their responses are below.
Anna Fitzpatrick
Senior strategist at BBH
Nihilists might get the facts wrong, but they often get the feelings right.
So if you’re going to leverage nihilism, start with empathy.
Firstly, because it's the right thing to do.
Let me be clear: brands are not the solution to nihilism. But every brand has a moral responsibility to not make nihilism worse by fuelling distrust or inflaming division.
Secondly, because empathy is rocket fuel for resonance.
By getting under the skin of how something feels – and feeling it too – we can shine a light on unspoken tensions, tinder for comic relief. And as the saying goes: laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
So don’t treat nihilists as a problem to fix, or worse – an abstract object of intellectual study.
Start by spending time with them.
Mel Arrow
CSO at McCann London
The late, great David Lynch once said – keep your eye on the doughnut rather than the hole in the middle. It’s an ode to optimism and it’s how I aim to live my life. It’s certainly hard, however, when the hole is such a war-torn, badly tanned distraction. At McCann, we’ve been studying the mood of Britain for decades. Its evolution over time, through financial and political crises and patches of sporting success, make for an interesting read. One thing that’s true of this current chapter, is that while national optimism is down, community optimism is up. Ask how we feel as a country and uncertain is the most chosen word. Ask how we feel in our homes, families, communities, fandoms and teams and optimism is alive and well. So, if we’re trying to refocus the country on the doughnut, rousing state of the nation addresses from brands might not be the way to do it. But enabling, heroing, and even giving back to the pockets of joy in our lives might be. And now, I’m hungry…
Ben Peckett
Group creative director at Amplify
In a world that increasingly feels take, take, take and all about consuming more, maybe it’s time for us to take stock. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if brands took a little less time to sell to us and a bit more time to connect with us? Gymshark did it brilliantly with its Deload Barbershop in 2022. Now imagine if that had been an all out commitment to permanent spaces designed to counter the gloom rather than just a week long pop up.
Advertising isn’t and shouldn’t be here to solve the world’s (or the individual’s) problems. Let’s take inspiration from the recent Waitrose ‘whodunnit?’, and Uber One’s Brian Cox Goes To College ad, and aim to make work that stands out and raises a smile. Our work should brighten someone’s day. So let’s give someone a reason to watch a 30 second spot in a Corrie ad break rather than making a brew, or get them to double-take that billboard double-entendre from the bus, or convincing them to spend 30 minutes immersed in an experience designed to wrap a better-feeling world around them.
Let’s be entertaining. Maybe if we set out with that ambition from the off, we’d all feel a little less doomy.
Ivy Escopete
Senior strategy consultant at Cheil UK
Consumers hate nothing more than when brands start to join in on life’s misery and form pity parties. While people may not be as optimistic about the world, it doesn’t mean that they want to embrace pessimism. People want to be happy and are willing to fight for it. The correct response from brands is to help them in that fight – not just with cheesy motivational marketing messages, but by actively contributing to a better world. For example, if brands post messages like ‘Brighter Days Ahead’, they should back them up by implementing sustainable practices to ensure those brighter days actually come. Cheering people up with empty promises won’t resonate. Working with them to create a genuinely brighter future is the way forward.
Ringo Moss
Chief strategy officer at McCann Central
This is Fine: Brands Don't Need to Be the Antidote to Nihilism.
When people start feeling a bit “what’s the point?”, it’s tempting to think brands should swoop in and save the day. For a while, the brand purpose era made us believe brands should fix the world’s problems, but that’s always been a tall order. And now, it feels even more unrealistic.
The reality is that brands aren’t supposed to be superheroes. They exist to be familiar and consistent, and because of that, easy to choose and buy. And perhaps that’s all they need to be today. Reliable.
It seems obvious nobody wants forced cheerfulness when they’re feeling weighed down with the world, yet marketers continue to fall into that trap. When the world feels uncertain, a constant stream of rainbows and unicorns is more annoying than uplifting. So instead of ignoring or trying to erase the volatile uncertainty of the world, maybe we can empathise with it. Let’s acknowledge the chaos with a wink and a nod, share a bit of humour, and be there with something people can count on.
People don’t need brands to fix everything or pretend everything’s fine, they just want a little consistency in the madness. It’s as simple as the coffee that’s always good, the shoes that always fit, a campaign that makes people smile, or a price promise without terms and conditions. Being reliable and fair is enough – certainty is the real antidote to chaos.
In a world full of uncertainty, marketers and brands create certainty by staying true to who they are, in their product, pricing and brands, day in and day out. The goal isn’t to fix the world, but to make life a little more predictable and a lot less complicated.
Richard Armstrong
Partner at MSQ/Sustain
It’s a well-known fact that working in sustainability can be a bit of a downer. In fact, there’s a new niche of management coaches that’s emerged – just to help sustainability-types cope with our perpetual doom and gloom, our feelings of pointlessness and failure. We were surprised IPSOS managed to find 31 people who were even vaguely optimistic about 2025 – from where we’re sitting, it’s all set up nicely to be a blockbuster bumper edition of bleakness. Drill baby, drill.
On the other hand, when expectations are so low, every win becomes a WIN. There’s perhaps a reason why we at MSQ/Sustain have never been busier. Brands that have something positive to say, who have made commitments and are sticking to them, suddenly they really really want to tell the world. Pushing upstream against the torrent of plastic-infused effluent, these little salmon of hope are glimmering in the sunshine. It’s as if it means more, matters more when all around is Blue Monday. Doing the right thing – which, let's be honest was green-ish wallpaper a few years ago when everyone was ‘doing the right thing’ – is now a chance to stand out, be a bit brighter and a bit braver. This is what keeps our peckers up, and hopefully will spread a little light in the dark this year, long after we’ve blown the global carbon budget before Dry January is over…[oh no, there I go again…].
Agalia Tan
Senior planner at We Are Social Singapore
Confidence and optimism come when you have a sense of high self-efficacy, which hinges on two factors: your ability to achieve the goal, and the said goal.
It’s true that our external circumstances like the rising cost of living, political climate and income inequality impacts our perceived ability to achieve a goal. But what ought to be discussed, and what really is in our locus of control is the goal itself, or as the question states, traditional milestones and aspirations.
Although the world has evolved dramatically over the decades, our goals and what we use to measure them by (i.e. riches, status, progression and glamour) have remained fairly constant. Because of that, it’s no doubt that people begin to feel disenchanted when the world is moving towards a new way of being and yet, they are constantly bombarded by messages that pressure you to continue hustling towards traditional milestones and aspirations.
It’s easy to forget that marketing has a power to change the units by which we are measuring culture, or the metrics we use to measure our success by.
Instead of thinking of the world as a static sandbox where brands and marketers are to conform to its rules, marketers should remember that they have the power to influence what society is paying attention to, and what we in turn will value and strive towards.
Take for example, IKEA’s ‘Show Your Savvy’ campaign which showed how being practical and resourceful in furnishing your home is equally or even more satisfying than spending a lot of money on grand, luxurious items. Against the backdrop of a rising cost of living crisis, such social realism is celebrated and welcomed by consumers.
Increasingly, it will be the imperative of marketers to make sure that brands are operating in sync with new units of culture, rather than reinforcing outdated belief systems.
Kevin Tiedgen
Executive director of data & AI at Jung von Matt
Times of crisis breed subcultures and excess. When reality feels unbearable, people seek their own safe havens, constructing micro-worlds within which they can find solace. Mark Zuckerberg once promised connection, yet we’re now lonelier than ever. Advertising alone cannot save the world, nor can it obliterate algorithms. However, creativity historically often flourishes when it confronts societal failings or breaks with changes in society entirely. Advertising is primarily a capitalistic tool. Still, it can create emotional resonance and offer moments of escapism. Quoting Charli XCX, “There is no explanation for what I do (...) chaos and destruction,” we see that pushing boundaries might invigorate new expressions of identity. Brands must recognize this tension between isolation and emerging communities where genuine connections are formed. By employing emotional storytelling, collaborative initiatives, and user-driven content, brands can build trust and visibility, allowing these enclaves of hope to flourish. In turn, they move beyond transactional relationships, fostering spaces where people genuinely want to engage. Instead of pretending to solve grand societal issues, they can offer tangible backing and uplifting narratives, showing that there’s still room for optimism, growth, and shared humanity—even in times of crisis.
Martin Severs
Head of strategy at Collaborate
I hate the concept of Blue Monday because it almost lays a pre-set expectation to be sad. And I’ve always found that with so many things ‘anticipation is worse than reality’.
It’s certainly true that brands sometimes need to butt out of people’s lives. We’re awash with issue-based messages when, at the end of the day, you simply want to butter your toast or season your salad.
But we can learn much from entertainment as a long-time morale booster in difficult times – providing a much-needed sense of escapism from conflict, ill health and the hardships of everyday life. How? Often through offering up some security through the reassurance of regular seasonal activity: January is SO much better for the return of The Traitors, the close of November tingles with pre-Christmas excitement when IACGMOOH arrives.
Who doesn’t get a kick each year from the big Christmas window displays – an anticipated experience that spreads joy. Or think Coca-Cola. This beverage giant's Christmas trucks and comms are big happy moments – yet the brand makes waves too with its Halloween, Easter, and Valentine's day marketing.
It’s a long game for brands, but creating a ritual that forms a part of consumers’ rhythm can provide a sense of security without being too much of an imposition. And cheer us all up along the way.
Phil Jeffery
Associate creative director at TRO
To be honest, I think it’s pretty self-indulgent during a time of severe unpredictability in the world for a brand to be thinking “how does this affect mEeEeE?”
A product or punchy campaign isn’t going to cure the public’s existential dread. I think a brand should be the equivalent of the person who comes over after a break-up: the one who doesn’t hit you with the head tilt asking “How are you doing? Are you ok? How are you doing though?”, but who gets what you’re going through and just sits there, not forcing anything, providing a bit of comfort in the moment.
It's always tempting for a brand to jump on the zeitgeist-consuming issues – side note, watch Bo Burnham's social brand consultant sketch from 'Inside' – but in dark times, just being the *thing* that connects with people in the small moments is what could bring the most value to the world.
Helen Rose
Managing partner at the7stars
Could 2025 be the year we free January from its negativity bias?
The macro geopolitical and economic challenges we find ourselves facing are not unique to the turn of the year. In fact, there’s a lot to feel positive about in the year ahead.
Just this week, we polled the7stars Pulse Panel, with two-thirds rating 2025 as "going okay so far," and an even more optimistic 1 in 10 describing the new year as "off to a great start."
Our research highlighted two key areas of priority for British consumers this year: "having fun" and "more travel." This indicates there’s a clear appetite for happy times ahead.
As for right now and the looming Blue Monday, less than half of Brits say they actually feel depressed on that day. I’d argue it’s a day that’s ripe for a rebrand – so ditch the inauthentic empathy or false positivity, and instead focus on what really matters to people this year.
Peter Wilson
Executive strategy director at Iris
It’s been over 20 years since the term ‘Blue Monday’ was reportedly coined, so it’s probably about time to update our vocabulary and reference points.
We’ve been living through a compounding 'polycrisis' and a relentless news cycle that often feels not just dystopian but utterly deranged. So an awful lot of people aren’t just feeling ‘Blue Monday’, they’re feeling perpetually disoriented and frightened. They have reached ‘empathy saturation’ and they need coping mechanisms to help them deal with the bleakness of it all. They don’t need another anodyne brand purpose or set of sympathetic values.
As when faced with any threat, a primal choice must be made. Either we help people take on the fight with practical utilities and services. Or we help them take flight by providing escapism through entertainment and silliness. To borrow from Nick Cave, we’ve all had too much sorrow; now is the time for joy.
Aimee Luther
MD at The Liberty Guild
We’re doomed. Halfway to hell in a handcart. If anything it’s gotten worse since Ipsos took that poll. Maybe brands should just pull the duvet up and go back to sleep till 2026. When people are even turning their back on DATING, a straw of potential happiness to grasp at – we must be properly miserable. If people can’t even be motivated to connect with each other, the chances of wanting to connect with a brand seems like a bloody long shot.
Remember in lockdown when adland lurched towards that ‘we’re all in this together’ happy-clappy-warm-feelgood-direction? It was toe-curling wasn't it? It’s funny how when brands try to get a line into the zeitgeist, they pretty much always miss and come out as tone-deaf.
So please. Don't do it. What can you, as a fast-moving consumer goods or a financial service, do in the face of vengeful mother nature, pig-headed nation states, or rogue social media platforms? Unfortunately the answer is nothing. Anyway, it's not what you say, it's what you do.
Long before covid there was brand philanthropy, but the pandemic made it a thing. Brands got used to ‘doing good’ during lockdown. But we’ve quickly forgotten it. Maybe the problems we see down the pike can move us back to that a little bit. After all, kindness, far from being gentle, is actually good for business, and good for the world.
Jessica Treasure
Head of strategy at Bountiful Cow
Escapism in pessimistic times is a well evidenced, evolutionary human behaviour. We cope with stressful situations, by engaging with storytelling and play to lower our cortisol levels, providing mental respite.
We see this demonstrated as a collective cultural response time and time again, from the rise of Disney during WW2 to virtual reality surging during the covid pandemic.
Advertising and comms should also be a form of entertainment and escapism.
But advertising has become ‘dull’, as research by Adam Morgan and Peter Field highlighted in their work ‘The Cost of Dull’. They found that ‘dull’ advertising is widespread (48% of B2C ads) and doesn’t work very hard. Similarly at Bountiful Cow our ‘Relative Advantage’ research with the IPA found that not following the ‘dull’ herd pays back.
We need to move away from the wallpaper of purely rational messaging and focus on creating content that grabs attention and makes people sit up and take notice. By reflecting what truly matters to individuals and their communities, we might just inspire a few to talk about the brand—and even buy what it’s selling.
Take EE’s recent brand relaunch - it's visually in-your-face and it makes you smile because it’s totally relatable. The mum’s hug in the Playdate ad? That was literally my weekend! Add to that a great soundtrack and the result is entertaining and memorable, and maybe next time I need to switch mobile providers, I just might remember those ads.
Wanda Pogue
Chief Strategy Officer at VaynerMedia
The bleak end to 2024 and an even darker start to 2025 brought a sense of pessimism. However, people remain resilient and find ways to cope with the realities of the world around them.
A vice is nice: 2025 has already been coined the year of “same me...maybe even slightly worse.” Many people are keeping their bad habits and leaning into their vices – the world doesn't seem like it's getting better, so why should they? Brands can position themselves as the feel-good indulgence consumers seek.
Bingo: A new year brings new goals that deserve celebrations. Amid the chaos, people crave progress and momentum. A way to capture this is through DIY Bingo cards for 2025 predictions. This allows individuals to track their goals and celebrate small victories along the way. Brands can create or support these Bingo challenges to help people see that progress is still possible.
Humour in the absurd: In a sea of bad news, people are looking for bits of relief. Over-the-top comedic content topped the charts. While this is not for all brands — and we caution against being tone-deaf — as people seek to escape reality, brands can offer a light-hearted refuge."
Armando Potter
Head of strategy at 72andSunny Amsterdam
Optimism is the core value of 72andSunny. But if we want optimism to fight 2025’s doom and gloom, optimism needs a rebrand. Because that 'everything-is-awesome' veneer that optimism has fallen stereotype to, won’t work. At best it’s annoying tone deafness. At worst it's toxic positivity. So how can optimism take on 2025 in a way that makes the world rally around us instead of rejecting us?
Make optimism an act of rebellion. If angst is in, then optimism is a challenger. And it need not be challenged quietly. The world of work isn’t working, so Indeed is on a mission to make the world work better. Calling out job injustices along the way. Remember optimism is not altruistic, it’s opportunistic. It looks at any situation — no matter how hard it might seem – and goes, “Hell yeah, I can do it.” It’s Zurich asking “What Could Go Right?” in an insurance category obsessed with going wrong. Or TikTok turning its platform for play into business for small businesses. Lastly, avoid empty enthusiasm. Real optimism is empowering, inspiring hope through meaningful acts of change. Like e.l.f. pressuring companies to create more gender equality in the workplace with its ‘Change the Boardgame’ initiative.
Megha Parikh
Head of strategy at VML
Nihilism’s shadow looms large, colouring our collective outlook a muted grey. Recent polls reveal a decline in global optimism, with many feeling traditional milestones are increasingly out of reach. Overshadowed by the climate crisis, political divides, and economic inequality, even fundamental human pursuits are losing their appeal. This pervasive sense of ‘meh’ presents a unique challenge for marketers: how do you ignite action when hope feels like a flickering flame?
The knee-jerk reaction might be to counter this perceived negativity with a dose of cheer. But I think this approach misunderstands the nature of modern nihilism. It’s not necessarily a descent into sadness or despair, but a growing numbness, an inability to feel much of anything at all. This mirrors a common misconception about depression – it’s less about pervasive sadness and more about an absence of feeling, a void where emotions used to reside.
Our current era, saturated with constant crises, has dulled our emotional responses. Like a nervous system bombarded with adrenaline, our collective capacity for surprise has diminished. Events still register as positive or negative, but the intensity, the shock, the feeling is muted. We’ve become accustomed to the extraordinary, leaving us craving something truly novel to pierce the veil of indifference.
This is where marketing can adapt. Nostalgic, feel-good campaigns, while comforting, risk fading into the background. Instead, I see a surge in the effectiveness of novelty, absurdism, and unexpected creative decisions. People aren't necessarily seeking solace; they're seeking distraction, a break from the relentless barrage of bad news. Recent entertainment trends highlight this craving for escapism. And in the advertising world, we're already seeing a resurgence of humor, often tinged with absurdity. Think Liquid Death; Duolingo; and others. They cut through because they are unexpected, engaging through their sheer audacity.
Finally, I have to say – let's keep perspective. The world is undoubtedly facing serious challenges – the fires in LA put such a harsh light on that this week. But life, in its mundane beauty, continues. We still need to navigate the everyday – to provide for our families, find moments of joy, and connect with each other. Marketing and advertising play a role in this ongoing narrative, not by offering false cheer, but by providing engaging distractions, sparking curiosity, and reminding us that even in the face of uncertainty, there’s still room for laughter and the unexpected.
Jamie Bell
Executive creative director at The Maverick Group
Real life was more surreal than anything Armando Iannucci could have written. Global environmental chaos, megalomaniac politicians, AI threating to do every job from road sweeping to punk poetry, and a new Chancellor that forced a collective moan from everyone. It was, and is, bloody grim. So, the fact that a third of people are ‘gloomy as fuck’(tm) is hardly a surprise. But what if this is the moment for advertising to step up and inject some joy back into the cracks between the doom and gloom of 24 hour news?
We are in the business emotion. The right emotional trigger is the most powerful thing there is. And positive emotional responses are king of the castle. We know this because we are in the hearts and minds business. People buy more from brands that make them feel good than they do from any other. Make me smile, give me an emotional benefit and my hand is already searching for my wallet.
Remember the 80s and 90s? Advertising wasn't just about selling products. It was about bringing joy and escapism. It was often more entertaining the programming it was sandwiched between. Think about the iconic campaigns: the ice-skating pandas, tea drinking monkeys and short sketches about how brill’yant milk is. These were more than ads, they were moments, created not just to shift product, but to bring joy.
This is the kind of advertising we need in 2025. Forget chasing fast clicks and quick conversions. Brands aren’t built on the laziness of a quick sale. They’re built on long-term emotional reward, and joy that keeps people coming back. In the face of uncertainty, we need to remind people about what makes them happy.
So, let’s get back to what we do best: creating joy, winning hearts, and turning groans into growth. Because when a brand puts a smile on a face and lights a fuse inside us, everyone wins.
