Back in the 2010s, purpose-driven branding was everywhere. People felt good about slipping on TOMS, believing in the one-for-one promise to give shoes to a child in need. Always turned an insult into empowerment with its #LikeAGirl campaign, scooping Cannes’ top award and headlines across the globe.
Purpose wasn’t just fashionable; it was the future of marketing.
That was then. Today, the world has become more sceptical, distrustful and uncertain. And with it comes consumer fatigue over grandiose promises. Those beacons of purpose have dimmed.
TOMS still gives back, but the impact is now hidden behind the last button on its website, and Starbucks’ Race Together campaign proved how quickly good intentions can backfire when they feel misplaced or inauthentic.
It’s not that consumers no longer care about climate change, fairness, or diversity. They absolutely do. But they’ve stopped taking brands at their word.
Purpose, once inspiring, too often feels like spin.
The Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report 2025 warns that brands are falling into the trap of “trust-washing,” making inflated claims of impact that consumers increasingly see as hollow. More than half now dismiss such claims as marketing spin, while 53% believe brands are outright dishonest about their societal contribution (Edelman 2025).
Edelman also found that 71% of global consumers trust companies less than they did a year earlier. Academic research reaches the same conclusion: authentic purpose builds credibility, but “woke-washing” does not just miss the mark, it actively destroys trust (Journal of Business Research, 2024).
People are tired of empty promises. They don’t want to be told anymore. They want the receipts.
Proof, not posture
Purpose isn’t dead, but the performance of it is.
The purpose-driven brands cutting through today aren’t the loudest, they’re the ones who are following through and willing to embrace uncomfortable truths over wishful thinking. Where the promise is tangible, pragmatic, and felt in the product, the service, or the experience. And it’s still commercially smart.
Harvard Business Review reports that 58% of organisations with a clear and strong purpose experienced more than 10% growth over three years, compared to those without.
“Purpose, once inspiring, too often feels like spin.”
Patagonia is perhaps the clearest example. Its purpose runs through every fibre of the brand, from the products it makes, to the way it runs its supply chain, to the cultural decisions it takes as a business.
The now-famous “Don’t Buy This Jacket” ad wasn’t a slogan. It was creative that was as bold as its message of real action to discourage overconsumption. It resonated because it was proof-led, not posture-led, delivered with confident, powerful design.
And recently, Lush showed the same kind of conviction. The retailer closed its stores for a day in protest at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, a move that went far beyond marketing and into the realm of real sacrifice.
Whatever you think of the stance itself, it was a rare example of a brand acting in line with its values, not just talking about them.
This is the new reality. The old purpose branding of lofty campaigns and poetic slogans is dead. What lives is purpose you can touch, see, and believe in.
Creativity creates belief
Creativity isn’t a replacement for proof, but it is the force that ensures proof gets noticed. Design transforms delivery into distinction, ensuring action isn’t invisible but impossible to ignore.
We’ve seen this first-hand in our recent work with Big Hug Brewing. For years, UK craft beer brand supported causes like Only A Pavement Away and YMCA DownsLink Group, but this impact risked fading into the background with a design that failed to communicate its purpose in a clear and consistent way.
JDO’s work for Big Hug Brewing
When Big Hug set its ambition to become a 100% positive impact business, it knew that good intentions weren’t enough. Getting the rebrand and messaging right was crucial.
We worked with Big Hug to articulate its promise to “brew for better, for people and planet” and create belief in that promise with a brand design that was bold, witty, and full of character, but also crystal clear. The new ‘World Hug’ logo, vibrant design world, and standout packaging didn’t just refresh the look. They made the purpose tangible.
The result is a brand that isn’t just talking about change but showing it, in a way drinkers can instantly connect with.
The new rules of purpose
If you’re a brand with purpose, here are three things that matter:
Proof over posture. Make purpose meaningful to consumers’ reality.
Creativity is your amplifier. Be confident. Be bold. Be clever.
Better by being brand-led. The stronger the link to product and positioning, the greater the belief in your promise.
In a time when the world itself feels low on purpose, brands that truly deliver social and ecological difference are the ones breaking through.
Creativity’s role is not to spin the story, but to make the proof unmistakable so people believe.
Ben Sillence is head of strategy at JDO UK.