The World: Crystal ball-gazing in the UK and over the Pond.(New York Future Marketing summit 2006)

Steve Henry, United Group's creative director, notes the varying attitudes towards embracing the future in the UK and US.

Ever since man walked out of his cave on a sunny day and then got hailed on, he has attempted to predict the future.

And while 'future marketing' conferences have been with us for a long time, they've largely been getting it wrong for years. For instance, when the young Alex Bogusky was at a conference 15 years ago, he heard someone predict the death of advertising (because of the internet) and the death of magazines (to be replaced by VHS tapes that we could all fast-forward through).

But the failure of both those predictions hasn't stopped people from continuing to prognosticate. Nor, in fact, did it stop Bogusky from chairing one of these events - the New York Future Marketing summit 2006, which had a very palpable excitement about it. And not simply because Bogusky is the best-looking man in advertising.

Bogusky kicked the thing off in playful mode. He said he reckoned there was a 99 per cent chance that product placement would play a big part in future marketing and a 100 per cent chance that he personally wouldn't care.

But then things started to get exciting; and people went on to make some very provocative suggestions about the future. Starting with Bogusky himself, who asserted that in the consumer-empowered internet era, it's consumers who own the brand. Not agencies and not marketers, who act as brand guardians - but the people who buy them.

He illustrated this with a series of viral stills created by people playing with the Burger King ad character, 'the King'. These people had created versions such as Bush King (based on merging George with the advertising spokesman), Elvis King (or King King as he is known) and Porn King (use your imagination).