The soldiers are Tea Party demonstrators and champions of “the 99 percent,” climate change activists, makers of computers and sneaker brands. They seem to be fighting over ideas and dollars but they are really fighting for control of our stories. The best of them, those who know this and can convince us that their story is true, are blowing

call whatever’s

“The irony is that while there have never been more ways to reach consumers, it’s never been harder to connect with consumers.”

audience as “consumers” is most likely thinking like a broadcaster.

If they do all of this, brands become vehicles for explanation, meaning, and story. In other words, they create myths that they can leverage to get attention and motivate action.

Here’s what I think it means: the oral tradition that dominated human experience for all but the last few hundred years is returning with a vengeance.

convenience. The stories they both tell open the door for all of us to be something more than a consumer. They invite us to be participants in a grand,

Marketing now has the chance to be something far more than an intrusion into people’s lives. We just have a lot of bad habits to break to get there.

Stories that will prevail in the story wars won’t just entertain—they will matter.