How do you Assure People about the Future? Tell them We're Going Back to the Past

Disney is looking to modernize its Mickey Mouse brand, and I detect a sophisticated framing technique at use that's designed to allay people's fears about it.  According to this New York Times piece:

"But Mickey won't be bland anymore, either. "I wanted him to be able to be naughty - when you're playing as Mickey you can misbehave and even be a little selfish," Mr. Spector said.

In many ways, it is a return to Mickey at his creation. When the character made its debut in "Steamboat Willie" in 1928, he was the Bart Simpson of his time: an uninhibited rabble-rouser who got into fistfights, played tricks on his friends (pity Clarabelle Cow) and, later, was amorously aggressive with Minnie."

Whether this is a message Disney is originating, or one that people are clinging to instinctively, a "return to the past" approach can do wonders for allying people's fears about a future that represents a change from the present.  See?  It's not really change at all if we're just going back to our roots, right?

Another great example of this was GM's Futurama exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair.  As discussed in the book, Yesterday's Tomorrows, GM helped sell the idea of a national highway system by telling people it would help America return to its agrarian roots. There was a great migration at the time from farms to cities, and many felt America was losing touch with its farm values.  But by commuting from the farm to the city, Futurama promised, we could have both.  See?  It's not really change at all if we're just going back to our roots, right?

(Cross-posted at http://SellingTomorrows.com)