If you’ve ever run an ad that flopped, you’re in good company.
Actually, you’re in great company.
For starters, you've got Squarespace’s Super Bowl head-scratcher.
Or Pepsi’s failed collaboration with Kendall Jenner.
Or Peloton’s worst gift ever spot.
They have decent concepts. They have big budgets. They have star power.
It’s not immediately obvious why these ads *ahem* bombed.
But I've done some thinking, and I have a diagnosis.
If you spent ten seconds on MY homepage, you know
My whole schtick is that your brand is a character.
This is a nice, polite, artistic way of saying that it doesn’t exist.
You can’t interact
with your brand.
That's the equivalent of trying to walk into MacLaren’s and have a beer with Barney from How I Met Your Mother. Or fly to Chicago, fling open the doors to The Beef,
and tell Carmy that all he needs is a really, really good therapist
Your brand is a complex web of association and opinion
that is (let’s be honest) only loosely related to what you sell or do.
If you’re an entrepreneur, that is terrifying.
Brand perception is a fickle mistress,
and as entrepreneurs, we all desperately need to stay on her good side.
WE DO, HOWEVER, HAVE SOMETHING WORKING IN OUR FAVOR.
When it comes to learning
The human brain loves two things: narratives and patterns.
(We’re also not very original.)
Throughout the history of the world
ACROSS ALL OF TME -- our stories feature the same set of recognizable figures, over and over again in different forms. And because they’re so familiar, they tend to evoke a very reliable emotional response.
They are the elusive combination of pattern and story.
And that, dear reader, makes them an invaluable marketing tool: IF you learn to wield them wisely.
Brand Archetype
What it is
How audiences subconsciously categorize the brands they interact with.
The real estate that a brand takes up in its audience’s imagination.
A strategy that lets brands have a say in how they want to be perceived.
A technique that helps a brand define the relationship it wants to have with its audience.
What it's not
A rigid set of rules, or away to box in or stereotype a brand.
(Because as you can read on my About page, here at Lexicon Copy Co. HQ we see labels as tools, not handcuffs.)
How to use it
As a guardrail to keep your brand from confusing or, worse, alienating your audience.
As a stupid powerful wicked easy tool for differentiation.
(If I were any other marketer, I might even be tempted to call it a hack.)
In case you don’t spend your spare time thinking about brand archetypes
I’ll lighting round through them:
😇 The Innocent
🧠 The Sage
🗺The Explorer
🎨The Creator
👑 The Ruler
💝The Caregiver
🗣The Everyman
🎭The Jester
💄The Lover
🦸♀The Hero
✨The Magician
👿The Rebel
…plus up to 32 subtypes that are too much for me to tackle today.
Archetypes are a subconscious system of categorization. And each archetype comes with a set of unwritten expectations.
And if you’re about to dismiss this as high-falutin’ English major hogwash, I regret to inform you:
If you don’t choose an archetype for your brand? It’ll choose you.
WHICH BRINGS ME BACK TO ALL THOSE TRAGIC ADS.
Somebody toss me a cane and a Vicodin addiction, because I’m about to diagnose them all like I’m the second coming of Dr. Gregory House.
Silly Squarespace, you’re not a Jester.
I get it. We’ve all told a joke and met with crickets.
The trouble is that Squarespace is a Creator brand, through and through.
It’s literally a tool of creation, and its implicit brand promise is to help people build on their brilliance and creativity.
(Thus the well-known relationships with famous Hollywood actors and directors.)
For instance, check out their “Singularity” spot, starring Adam Driver.
It’s not a crazy leap from creation to humor, but their audience just wasn’t ready to look up.
Oh Pepsi, don’t try to be a Hero.
Blatant cultural tone deafness aside, Pepsi should have known not to take this topic on.
Hero brands have strong convictions and don’t think twice about protecting the innocent.
Pepsi is a Jester brand — they’re known for bringing the party and keeping things light, zany, and fun.
They never take themselves too seriously.
As proof, I submit this very topical ”Roman Empire” spot.
Is it any wonder that they accidentally made light of such a serious topic?
Face it Peloton, you’re not Everyman
Thanks for your concern Peloton, but we don’t want you to empathize with to our self-doubt.
As a Hero brand, we want you to help us conquer it.
Peloton promises to help its audience surprise themselves with how much you can achieve.
Don’t believe me? Check out this RIDICULOUSLY motivational “Yes I can” spot.
So I’m not surprised that their cozy little domestic drama got taken the wrong way.
If you still think your brand
doesn’t have an archetype,
or that your archetype doesn’t matter?
I won’t take it personally. you’re probably just a Rebel archetype. 😎 💅🏾
In all seriousness, not everyone is a fan of this school of thought. I understand why: archetypes are a double edged sword. Historically, certain industries fall into certain archetypes. Chocolate = the Lover. Non-Profits = the Caretaker.
Remember how I said that humans are not very original? Customers have noticed. And they are bored.
And even though I very clearly stated earlier in this email that Archetypes shouldn’t be used to enforce stereotypes, not everyone in the world of marketing is subscribed to the Gazette. (But if you’d like to change that, you have my permission to forward them my subscribe link).
But the concepts that Archetypes embody aren’t going away anytime soon. In the right hands, Archetypes are a powerful tool for differentiation.
So, not to toot my own tagline horn, but when I design a brand’s voice? I’m looking for an archetype that literally defies genre.
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Step One
Blissfully disregard what the rest of your industry does
Step Two
Identify your audience's desire.
Step Three
Decide how you want your brand to be seen.
Basing your archetype on your industry, product, or service
is a bad and boring call.
IMAGINE --a spirits company focused on family and connection with a Caretaker brand.
A skincare line solving lifelong struggles overnight as The Magician.
A stylist cutting through the chaos as The Sage.
By focusing on your brand's desired effect and the relationship you want to have with your audience, you force yourself to discover an entirely novel and deeply authentic way of approaching your customers.
And because I'm nice like this
I'll even give you a little glossary to get you started.
Brand Archetype: Innocent
SEEN AS: Pure, Optimistic, Guileless, Transparent, Friendly, Good
APPEALS TO: A customer's desire for beauty, utopia, or better times ahead.
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: Calm, peaceful, safe, happy, hopeful.
Brand Archetype: Sage
SEEN AS: Intelligent, Knowledgeable, Elite, Savvy, Trustworthy, Objective
APPEALS TO: A customer’s desire to achieve peace of mind through intelligence and analysis..
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: Smart, refined, autonomous, well-informed, capable, confident, in control.
Brand Archetype: Explorer
SEEN AS: Authentic, A Pioneer, Unique, Daring, Curious, Non-Conforming
APPEALS TO: A customer’s desire for freedom, purpose, and being their truest self.
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: Excited, free, independent, equipped, centered.
Brand Archetype: Creator
SEEN AS: Daring, Original, Imaginative, Innovative
APPEALS TO: A customer’s desire to experience something out of the ordinary, express themselves, reinvent themselves, and leave a mark on the world.
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: Inspired, excited, joyful, challenged
Brand Archetype: Ruler
SEEN AS: --
APPEALS TO: --
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: --
Brand Archetype: Caregiver
SEEN AS: Empathetic, Generous, Consistent, Trustworthy, Altruistic, Wholesome
APPEALS TO: A customer’s desire to feel safe and loved.
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: Cared about, nurtured, protected, supported.
Brand Archetype: Everyman
SEEN AS: --
APPEALS TO: --
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: --
Brand Archetype: Jester
SEEN AS: --
APPEALS TO: --
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: --
Brand Archetype: Lover
SEEN AS: Passionate, Intimate, Seductive, Committed, Fun, Personal, Open, Beautiful
APPEALS TO: Our customer’s desire to be cared about.
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: Special, spoiled, doted-on, seen, prioritized, appreciated
Brand Archetype: Hero
SEEN AS: Dedicated, Courageous, Principled, Persevering, Disciplined, Capable, Honest
APPEALS TO: A customer’s desire to be the best version of themselves.
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: Energized, limitless, resilient, protected, challenged, competent, determined, empowered, worthy
Brand Archetype: Magician
SEEN AS: Pure, Optimistic, Guileless, Transparent, Friendly, Good
APPEALS TO: A customer’s desire to transform their circumstances or themselves.
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: Impressed, fascinated, inspired, unstuck
Brand Archetype: Rebel
SEEN AS: --
APPEALS TO: --
MAKES PEOPLE FEEL: --
