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Archetypal advertising and design
Shaun Crowley
We are all aware of how advertising has changed over the decades. What started as ‘Here’s the product, now go and buy it!’ advertising in the 1950’s, has turned into ‘Here’s a feeling, now feel it!’ advertising, in which products appear as personalities, metaphors, and emotions.
Advertisers have drawn on psychological theory to target people’s emotional needs in consumer advertising, where buying decisions are more likely to be spontaneous or heavily influenced by spontaneous and often unconscious emotions.
“The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls”
These days, we are bombarded with promotional messages and visuals everywhere we go. They are present in subways, on TV, in magazines, in the street, and even on the clothes of the people walking by. In fact, everything we do exposes us to advertising imagery in some form or other.
So why is it that we don’t feel overwhelmed by such a relentless wave of provocative icons? How come none of us feel compelled to read each of the subway billboards before we get on the train? How come we don’t remember every single TV advertisement during the break?
The reason is called desensitization. It’s a process in which our brains learn to filter out periphery messages. This filtering is done subconsciously—which is why we are often aware we saw a particular advertisement, but unable to recall it.
Finding out how desensitization works has led cognitive researchers to conclude that our subconscious does a whole lot more work than previously thought.
The power of the subconscious
Cognitive research in the 1990s tells us that subconsciously our brains are aware of everything around us all of the time.
This means as we wade in this vast ocean of icons, our subconscious must decide which of the messages deserves our attention, and which ones don’t.
The theory of the subconscious’s role in encoding advertising messages has paved the way for a rebirth in Jungian archetypal theory. If we subconsciously filter out external messages and images, then surely advertising must ‘talk to the subconscious’ to retain its impact.
For consumer advertising to remain effective, it must be informed by an understanding of the deeper, unarticulated, subconscious needs of its target audience. These needs are what Jung refers to as ‘archetypes’.
Jung’s archetypes
Jung never made a definitive list of archetypes. However, a few of the most clearly-recognized archetypes are listed below.
- to be immortal (keeping fit, keeping healthy, keeping clean)
- to be loved (being mothered, finding a partner, being popular)
- to be sexual (seducing, hunting, indulging)
- to be secure (investing in the future, feeling part of a community, being protected)
- to be reborn (transforming oneself, overcoming an obstacle, being saved, transcending to an after-life [or given rights to do so], thrill-seeking)
- to be a child (being care-free, finding purity, connecting with the past, beholding a treasure, uniting opposites, changing the future)
- to be a saviour (guiding, saving, caring for others)
- to be a trickster (being subversive, being mischievous, making people laugh, crossing boundaries)
- to be wise (learning, experiencing, teaching, advising, being fatherly)
- to protect (nurturing, mothering, defending)
- to provide (gathering, hunting, giving)
- to be heroic (winning, being a pioneer, exploring, expressing one’s individuality, finding status)
Archetypes in advertising
Look hard enough, and you’ll see that a lot of advertisements draw upon one universal, deep-seated need (an archetype). They tug on the readers’ primitive emotions, and plays to their deepest needs, ambitions, desires, and sometimes, fears.
Advertising that reaches out to an archetypal need is usually the most persuasive, whether you’re selling calculators to city bankers or toilet tissue to consumers. You should always be aware which of the following motivational drivers your client’s product responds to, and if possible, subtly integrate that knowledge into your design approach
Many different motivational drivers may be at play at the same time, and two or more can join to become one. For example, a calculator can draw upon the wise (advising), secure (being protected), and heroic (exploring) archetypes. Toilet tissue can draw upon the healthy (keeping clean), loved (being mothered) and secure (being protected) archetypes.
Archetypes have negative as well as positive associations. Here we have focussed on the positive aspects, as it is usually positive archetypes that people respond best to in advertising.
Expressing archetypes through images
Images are more effective at communicating unconscious feelings than words. That’s because we are not always able to articulate or recognize archetypal feelings through language.
Whereas language is a surface level communication tool bound by conscious thought, images often go deeper to engage fears and emotions people may be too embarrassed to admit to, or not even aware of.
That’s why the visual 'hook' of an advertisement is pretty important, as every designer knows! Images don’t merely grab attention – they offer the subconscious a bridge between the product and the relevant archetypal need the product fulfills.
Think about which archetypal needs that your client’s product addresses. When you’re conceptualizing, think about a visual that communicates an appropriate archetypal benefit.
How do you know if an image is archetypal?
Consider the visual you plan on using for your next ad campaign. It may be vivid and eye-catching – but is it emotive? Is it archetypal?
To investigate, start by dissecting the psychological demographic of your target audience. Discuss with your client which primal motivators are most likely to be shared amongst the demographic, and which of those the product responds to.
Here are a few basic motivators:
- To feel attractive
- To feel fit and healthy
- To receive acclaim
- To be liked
- To be appreciated
- To feel important
- To feel secure
- To feel relaxed
- To be independent
- To have more than others
- To have fun
- To gain knowledge
- To eliminate worry
- To save embarrassment
- To avoid feeling guilty
- To stop fear
If you see patterns emerging, find an appropriate visual metaphor that communicates the archetype your reader subconsciously aspires to activate.
For example, many people working in sales are thrill-seekers. Closing a sale isn’t just about making money, it’s about the thrill of the chase. Images symbolizing hunting, heroism, and resurrection can have profound appeal.
Obviously, we must be careful not to over-generalize. Although archetypes are universal (so Jung suggests), their representations and projections may not be.
For example, the 'mother' archetype may be symbolized as an image of a lion in the dream of one person, and an image of a tree in the dream of another.
Yet within the boundaries of specific cultures, some archetypal images can have common interpretations, such as a phoenix rising from the ashes (resurrection/rejuvenation); monsters hiding in the dark (the ‘shadow’ archetype); cowboys (the ‘hero’ archetype); and poltergeists (the ‘trickster’ archetype).
These images are passed down through generations via myths and stories, and are kept alive today through movies, TV programmes, and advertisements.
Blockbuster products fulfil archetypal needs
Using archetypes in marketing can go far deeper than choosing a visual for an ad. It can inform the whole branding of a product.
Lots of companies draw upon the ‘Wise Man’ archetype to brand their products, such as Worthers Original sweets and Mr. Kipling cakes. Some draw upon the ‘Hero’ archetype such as Malboro cigarettes and Gilette razors.
Products in which the actual functionality responds to archetypal needs are likely to be most successful. The iPOD is perhaps the most archetypal of archetypal products, appealing to the mobility/freedom of youth that goes way back to the roaming nomad.
Where next?
Theories around the collective unconscious have never been so important than in today’s modern society, where we move away from an age of broadcasting and into an age of globally shared individual experience.
As fast as marketers find new ways to infiltrate the chosen media of consumers (such as blogging, You Tube, and MySpace), ‘consumers’ are increasingly becoming resistant to interference, striving instead to take ownership over their media and to shape their own landscapes.
In this new consumer environment, can advertisers find effective ways of projecting archetypal meaning to their brands?
Shaun Crowley has worked as a freelance copywriter and marketing consultant. He currently works as a communications manager for a major UK publishing company and is the author of The Freelance Designer's Self-Marketing Handbook and 100 Copywriting Tips for Designers and Other Freelance Artists.