VML’s The Future 100: 2026 report reveals how brands must sell to a ‘dysoptimistic’ generation

VML has released its 12th annual The Future 100 report, outlining 100 global trends set to shape business, culture and consumer behaviour in 2026.

As 2026 unfolds amidst global challenges, VML’s 12th annual Future 100 report introduces an emerging cultural ethos: dystoptimism. A concept coined in its report, “dystoptimism” captures a collective mood that acknowledges darkness without surrendering to it and finding possibility in renewal.

The Future 100: 2026 report is based on a global survey across 16 markets and identifies 100 trends shaping global business and culture in the year ahead. It reveals that people are not merely coping with disruption, they are embracing it as a catalyst for fundamental changes in how they live, spend and connect.

Says Emma Chiu and Marie Stafford, Global Directors, VML Intelligence and coauthors of The Future 100: 2026: “Dystoptimism highlights that as old systems crumble, individuals, communities, and innovators are building new, human-centered solutions. It’s about designing for a better future, not just wishing for the past.”

Key themes from the 12th annual The Future 100 report:

1. Looking for Enlightenment and Joy in Adversity

Exhausted by cycles of negativity, people are seeking experiences that elevate their spirits, enlighten, and shift perspectives. 86% of respondents are drawn to encounters that inspire awe or a renewed worldview, and are seeking travel, wellness, culture and retail experiences as catalysts for personal growth. This can be seen in:

•       Transformative experiences and Immersive wellness reflect the rise of retreats and environments built for deep personal journeys.
•       Resilience wellness reframes resilience as a learnable practice, blending emotional, physical and spiritual tools to help people adapt to turbulent times.
•       Nano trips illustrate how short and high-impact getaways are being used as cost effective punctuation marks to find perspective or try on new identities.
•       Treatonomics highlight the rise in small indulgences, where regular pleasures become a survival strategy even as they cut back elsewhere.

2. AI’s Growth from Tool to Collaborator

AI is a major force, both disruptive and enabling. Growing comfort with AI is reshaping how people are using it to reshape their realities while fiercely protecting what makes us human:

•       Generative realities and AI storyworlds trends show how AI enables the generation of adaptive worlds in real time, pointing to a future where entertainment, commerce and customer experiences are co-created with algorithms.
•       Synthetic generation and RelAItionships evolved explore AI’s increasingly intimate role in people’s lives. From emotional companions to automated “employees”, we’re negotiating what it means to live and work alongside nonhuman counterparts. Almost half (49%) of gen Z say they have already formed a meaningful relationship with AI.
•       Trends such as Truth literacy, Omnisurveillance, Digital intent and Coded empathy show how governments, platforms, designers and brands are being pushed to rebuild trust and make AI more transparent and accountable, even as it’s embraced as a creative and practical ally.

3. Human Connection Reigns Supreme

Even as digital and physical realities blend, the report finds that true human connection remains vital.

•       In Hyperreality, online and offline culture fully intertwine—memes become physical products, digital language becomes everyday speech, and luxury brands turn viral jokes into real-world objects. Yet across the report, people say they still prefer human contact when they’re making decisions that matter.
•       Trends such as Social health and New rave scene highlight a surge in community driven spaces—from social wellness clubs and sober raves to neighborhood “third places” that prioritize belonging over transactions.

Says Naomi Troni, Global Chief Marketing Officer at VML: “The brands poised for leadership in 2026 are those that can operate confidently in blended realities and navigate these myriad shifts in consumer behavior. We must design for both the ambitious and anxious sides of consumers.”

Across its 100 trends, The Future 100: 2026 offers marketers, innovators and leaders a clear brief for the year ahead. For more insight on what this means for brands and marketers, read the full report.

The Future 100: 2026—including all 100 trends —is available for download at: www.vml.com/insight/the-future-100-2026