It seems the world situation has never been more depressing– e.g. bitter polarization of our politics, Russian atrocities in Ukraine, dangerous competition with China, the sad revelations about Trump’s latest corruptions, more mass shootings, and now pollution in the Northeast from climate change fires in Canada. But the summer is about to start, which is traditionally a season of hope, optimism and adventure. And with this comes opportunities for brand marketers to identify new flavors and microtrends to emotionally connect with consumers. Every summer is different, as Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote in 1864, “no summer ever came back, and no two summers ever were alike.”
Beginning in childhood, Americans always look forward to summers off from school as it is a season of exposure, where there is warmer weather especially in the Northeast and more hours of sunlight, a welcome change from the chilly winter. References to carefree summer themes are omnipresent. There have been over 90 movies made about the summertime, many with coming-of-age stories, such as Edith Wharton’s “Summer” and “Wet Hot American Summer”. Some well-known summer films that focused on new-found love, passion or adventure include:
- “A Summer Place”
- “The Long, Hot Summer”
- “The Kings Of Summer”
- “Summertime”
- “I Know What You Did Last Summer”
- “The Endless Summer”
- “Summer of ‘42”
- “Summer of ‘84”
How To Brand the Summer
The summer is widely recognized as a season full of symbolism and imagery, offering a blueprint for aspiration and new experiences. Marketers know that summertime represents fun, relaxation, joy and adventure, or just living footloose and frivolously; think of beaches, picnic tables, fishing poles, hot dogs and hamburgers, ice cream and of course July 4th fireworks. Many brands want to be associated with these traditional perceptions of refreshing experiences and create excitement that would further resonate with their customers. For example, Spotify offers a “Sad Girl Summer” playlist.
Every year there seems to be a new summer drink (e.g. “Hot Margarita Summer”), a new eating regimen, or a new lightweight summer outfit. In 2019 the rapper Megan Thee Stallion released the hit song “Hot Girl Summer” which described “being confident, having fun and looking good while doing it, and not caring what others think”. While this song referred to the summer of 2019, “Hot Vax Summer” was named for the summer of 2021 when more people were vaccinated and felt safer than in 2020. This referred to “hot” people who were “feeling confident, attractive, adventurous and frisky”. Not surprisingly online dating apps surged that summer as “vaxxed singles” once again were ready to mingle.
Creating new intentions for the summer can be a risky proposition however, as outcomes will vary. It worked for Meghan Markle who was having a “Single Girl Summer” when she met Prince Harry. On the other hand, after George in “Seinfeld” was given a 3 month severance from the Yankees, he proclaimed this to be “the Summer of George”, where he will even read a book “from beginning to end”. But George got it wrong, and ended the summer in a hospital bed instead.
We certainly need a summer of hope, optimism and less stress, where people can have fun again, feel more relaxed and be kinder to one another. Most importantly, maybe our political leaders around the world will be inspired to take a step back this summer and try to work honestly and harmoniously together to resolve the many challenges ahead.
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