Creating the Good Life 2030 Exhibition of the Future
Taking Adland on an immersive journey to show a thriving future is about more connection, not consumption
from Ceri Jones and Aimee Brewerton, Purpose Disruptors
“As great scientists have said and as all children know, it is above all by the imagination that we achieve perception, compassion, and hope.”
— Ursula Le Guin
Welcome, time traveller, to a brave new world:
Where connection trumps consumption, consumers are reframed as citizens, and creativity pushes paradigms. This is the imagined world of the new Good Life.
In April, 2023 as part of our Earth Day Advertising Summit, we created a Good Life 2030 Exhibition of the Future at the Tate Modern. An immersive exploration of radical ideas for advertising that reprise its role and purpose.
The exhibition took 200 advertising industry leaders and changemakers on a journey of discovery, understanding first-hand what UK Citizens’ visions of the future really are. From our deep research from the last 2 years, we know people’s dreams of the future are about a deeper connection to themselves, others and nature.
The exhibition included audio soundscapes of people describing their dreams for the future, and a phenomenal, creative and beautifully varied selection of work from a coalition of creative partners, including Bournemouth University, Creatives for Climate, Falmouth University and purpose-driven social media platform WeAre8.
22 ‘ads for the future’ were selected from over 200 entries, for Purpose Disruptors’ fictional client — ‘The year 2030’ seeking to help people connect with what matters most in life — a deeper connection to self, to others and to nature.
The works showcase the range of imagination, creativity and capacity to bring an alternative vision of a future good life into view.
Submission highlights include a poster which jumps ahead in time to an exhibition held in June 2712, an artwork which celebrates the power of community and connection, an emotive thank-you note from the perspective of the year 2030, A reinterpretation of Matisse’s ‘The Dance’ and a collection of futuristic Wartime and film posters. Entrants spanned disciplines across illustration, photography, graphic design, fine art and advertising, and took part from across the globe from locations including the UK, Kenya, The Netherlands, Ireland and Australia.
The exhibition also showcased adverts from award-winning agencies Iris, McCann, Gravity Road and a campaign which launched on Earth Day by from creative agency Iris and media partner MGOMD.
Alongside ‘Ads for the Future’ the exhibition invites viewers to take a tour through the wider field of futures and imagination practices that have inspired Good Life 2030.
This emerging yet thriving field is becoming essential for anyone in the creative industries looking to meaningfully engage with the climate emergency. From a Futures Bazzar Toolkit to artefacts exploring what the future smells like, from The Great Imagining, pieces were curated to excite, baffle or provoke.
Every day, virtually every human on the planet is touched and influenced by advertising. On their phone, TV, radio, billboards or computer. The people who create this content are architects of desire, helping shape cultural understandings of a ‘good life’ we should aspire to.
The Good Life Exhibition of the Future explores radical ideas for advertising that reprise its role and purpose. Where consumers are reframed as citizens, and creativity pushes beyond the limits of our imagination.
The future is ours to create.
Get in touch with Ceri@purposedisrutors if you’d like to explore how to bring this exhibition to you.
The full shortlist of ‘ads for the future’ works includes:
Bournemouth University
Emma Dodds
Charlotte Hardy and Vanya Vasileva
Fraser Nyland
Kayleigh Legrand and Millie Smith
Bethan Harris, Gabriella Fisher, Flora Searle,
Creatives for Climate
Ellie Foster — Creatives for Climate
Sophia Stöhr, Christian Leban and Tessa Huber, Creatives for Climate
Maya Adams, Creatives for Climate
Emma Kate Butler, Laura Costello, Eimhin Daly, Niamh Martin, and Fiona O’Grady, THINKHOUSE agency, Creatives for Climate
Sylvan Hillebrand, Creatives for Climate
Pete Ashworth, Creatives for Climate
Lee Boulton, Creatives for Climate
WeAre8
Laku Davies, WeAre8 Community
Andrew Warner, WeAre8 Community
Margherita Barbieri, WeAre8 Community
Oriana Jermide, WeAre8 Community
Ami Luck, WeAre8 Community
Falmouth University
Jackie Wong, Falmouth University
Lauren Perriam, Falmouth University
Jenna Thoresson, Falmouth University
Tim Street, Falmouth University
Cecilia Dipple, Falmouth University
Good Life 2030 Reclaims the Commercial Break
Purpose Disruptors
Lisa Merrick-Lawless, Ceri Jones, Ally Kingston, Aimee Brewerton
Creative agency — IRIS Swarm
Chief Strategy Officer — Ben Essen
Managing Partner — Amy Bryson
ECD — Grant Hunter
Grade and Post-production: Iris CYLNDR
Sound Design: GAS Music
Sound: GAS Music
Surround Mix: Yoad Nevo
Media agency — MG OMD
Executive Director — Tim Pritchard
Campaign Planner — Mikhail Vallance
