The American Dream still sells, but the dream itself has changed, and so should the way brands talk about it. That’s the message from new Ipsos
research on how Americans today define aspiration, success and opportunity in a shifting cultural and economic landscape.
A strong majority of Americans, across political lines, still believe that every generation should live better than the last. But most also say the Dream feels harder to reach than it used to be, and that not everyone can “have it all” anymore. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to feel the Dream isn’t attainable for “someone like me,” reflecting a gap between aspiration and lived experience that marketers ignore at their peril.