HSBC has a new marketing campaign. A series of thought-provoking ads, part of the series entitled “in the future” adorns the walls of airport hallways across the nation. The ads are modestly crafted, but powerfully innovative. Bearing simple images, a bumble bee, a city skyline, a plane, accompanied by simple tag lines, these ads depict a clear message; Tomorrow will be nothing like today.
People will be planning and crafting cities, nature and technology will work as one, the world of tomorrow is beyond our grasp. Modern technology evolves at an ever-increasing speed, faster than any market or currency value could even possibly strive for. The results of technological innovations are apparent throughout our daily lives. There is no shortage of innovation, and no idea too bold.
It is an interesting thought, and a powerful one, that the world we are preparing to enter will look almost nothing like the one in which we currently exist. The human condition, science, technology and globalization, are all being shaped by a myriad of forces. Tomorrow will be nothing like today.
How fitting these images were, as I prepared to board a flight to China for a mini-internship. America, once known as the center for all things modern, the capital for innovation, business and trade, is ever globalizing. The world we live in already necessitates interconnection and cross-cultural cooperation. My parents couldn’t believe I was about to head to China, but for most of our generation, the need to be globally minded, to get experience and to understand the broader scope of the global economy, are critical. No possible path of my future will be free from reliance on cooperation with foreign nations. To the younger generations this notion is a given, while our parents and grandparents knew no such thing. Tomorrow will be nothing like today.
This message almost stopped me in my tracks, as I was struck by the reality and the overwhelming-ness of the truth it held. Stepping on a plane to travel to America’s number one competitor, to China. To the center of innovation, the mecca of trade, manufacturing and commerce, to the rising super-power, to the largest middle class in the world, to a land of bullet trains and heavily-polluted air. The contradictions were apparent, but so were the changes. Unfathomable and yet reality, that is the face of tomorrow, and the quiet but powerful motto of advancement.
The world changes at such an ever increasing rate, we often forget how far we’ve come, taking for granted incredible technological and scientific advances. Humans have landed on the moon. The world has cars, trains, and planes; modes of transport that centuries ago were unfathomable. Most of the globe has access to life-saving vaccines and medicines. We have successfully cracked confounding genetic code to map the entire human genome. Pausing to think about the wonders of the world, and the marvels of modern innovation is truly awe-inspiring.
Tomorrow will be nothing like today.
It’s a simple notion that may knock you off of your feet if you stop and truly think about it. Give pause to the idea, and maybe even be part of the changes.
