There is a particular kind of brand campaign that does not try to solve a problem or communicate a benefit. It tries to take you somewhere else. It offers not information but atmosphere, not a proposition but a feeling of elsewhere. This is escapist marketing, and it has moved from niche creative strategy to one of the defining tendencies of contemporary brand communication.

The timing is not coincidental.

The context brands are responding to

In an era marked by economic uncertainty, climate anxiety, geopolitical tensions and relentless digital fatigue, brands are turning to fantasy, storytelling and emotionally immersive design. The consumer demand driving this is not subtle: research from McCann Worldgroup found that 91% of people feel the need to escape occasionally, and the "Escape Economy" is currently valued at $9.7 trillion, predicted to increase to $13.9 trillion by 2028. (McCann Worldgroup / Creativebrief)

That figure encompasses travel, entertainment, and leisure, but the implication for branding is clear: escape is not a peripheral consumer desire. It is a primary one. Brands that understand this are not merely selling products. They are selling relief.

The psychology underneath

Escapist marketing works because it operates at a level most advertising does not reach. Research shows that immersive experiences, whether through entertainment, retail environments or brand storytelling, can distract from stressors and promote emotional recovery. Fantasy-driven marketing taps into a deep psychological need for comfort and cognitive release.

One of the most useful frameworks for understanding why is construal level theory, a concept from cognitive psychology. When something feels far away in time, space or familiarity, we tend to think about it more abstractly. Surreal or fantastical branding increases this distance, shifting consumers' focus from immediate utility to emotional resonance, identity and imagination. (Chan & Gohary, The Conversation, 2025)

This explains why dreamlike campaigns tend to use fluid, expansive, or distorted imagery: not as an aesthetic preference, but as a functional mechanism for creating psychological distance from the everyday. The campaign is not asking you to evaluate a product. It is asking you to inhabit a different mental state.

Pine and Gilmore's foundational argument in The Experience Economy (1999) anticipated this precisely: as markets mature, the competitive differentiator shifts from product to experience, from what a brand sells to what it makes people feel (Harvard Business Review Press).

What it looks like in practice

The clearest examples come from luxury and fashion, where the gap between functional value and emotional value has always been largest. Gucci's Cosmos exhibition, celebrating over a century of the brand's history, functioned less as a commercial event than as a narrative environment, a world to move through rather than a collection to browse. Loewe's SS24 show dissolved the boundary between garment and landscape. Balenciaga's fashion films operate closer to dystopian cinema than campaign content.

But escapism is not limited to luxury. Chanel turned its Chance Eau Splendide fragrance into a fully-fledged immersive event combining experiential storytelling with fragrance discovery, beauty services, interactive games, and creative installations.  Burberry built a series of cinematic short films inspired by British romantic comedies. Netflix extended the Stranger Things universe into retail, making merchandise feel like access to a fictional world rather than a licensing deal.

The common thread is not budget or category. It is intentionality: these brands are constructing experiences designed to alter the consumer's emotional state, not simply inform their purchasing decision.

The line that matters

There is a fine line between meaningful escapism and empty spectacle. If a brand's fantasy narrative feels disconnected from its actual values or appears to mask unethical practices, consumers are quick to notice. When consumers perceive a brand as inauthentic, it can erode trust, trigger public criticism and lead to brand avoidance.

Escapism as a creative strategy is not a licence to be irresponsible or irrelevant. The most effective versions are grounded in something real: a genuine brand identity, a coherent aesthetic point of view, an honest relationship with the audience. What they offer is not an escape from the brand, but an escape with it. That distinction is what separates a campaign that transports from one that simply distracts.

The brands building lasting emotional equity through this approach are not the ones spending most on production. They are the ones that understand what their audience needs to feel, and have the creative confidence to provide it without apology.

References

• Pine, B. J., & Gilmore, J. H. (1999). The Experience Economy. Harvard Business Review Press. Link
• Chan, E. Y., & Gohary, A. (2025). Why Brands Are Embracing Fantasy: The Psychology Behind Escapist Marketing in Anxious Times. The Conversation. Link
• McCann Worldgroup / Truth Central. (2024). The Truth About Escapism. McCann Worldgroup. Link
• Retail Council of Canada. (2024). Gen Z Consumer Attitudes Report. Retail Council of Canada.
• ScienceDirect / Journal of Business Research. (2023). Consumer Escapism: Scale Development, Validation, and Physiological Associations. Link

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