The revolution of the Magician archetype
I’m not sure Dr. Jung could even imagine we would use his theory of archetypes in the way we are doing it in modern branding. Not even sure we have understood his thoughts correctly. But in my practice, any branding process is nearly impossible without at least a small amount of attention to the brand archetypes. Being asked about the archetypes meaning, I usually say they are 12 patterns any living creature can use to express their entire self.
I tend to believe every successful brand contains features of the Magician archetype because, as it is said, we don’t sell products, we sell experience. I remember that at the university, we would argue about the archetype combinations of different modern brands. But there’s never been any doubt Disney empire is a Magician. Walt Disney might haven’t used magic, but the hidden magician power helped him turn children into customers. I believe that before the development of Disney studio, and of course Disneyland children, used to be anything but customers and decision-makers. In ancient times, the opinion of the youngest representatives of the society was neglected. A bit later, society came to the conclusion about the saint nature of kids. But Disney brought children to the material world by making them fall in love with his products and long for the experiences the magic studio and entertainment complexes would offer. Many could accuse him and the Disney empire of being too commercial and capitalistic. At the same time, we understand that Disneyland has become something so globally accepted and financially successful, any other amusement park couldn’t even imagine. They started to sell experiences, joy, short-time happiness, and of course, dreams. Like real magicians, they are still ready to make the kids’ dreams come true. Another thing we’d mention is where the dreams come from. But that’s another story.
In the second half of the 20th century, the world could witness the rise of another dream empire, the Playboy. The Lover archetype of this brand is always mentioned, but what about the Magician power within this magazine? No one would argue that only a skilled magician can change the life of the average man in the way he could spend every night with the dream girl he would never meet in a real life. The fairy tale became real for many men in t world. And again, the product sold was a dream. From another side, any girl from the province could become a superstar, that dream girl for millions of fans just at the snap of her fingers. What she would need was the desire to be famous and admired, and … big boobs.
Have you got wings to fly? If not, the shot of Red Bull will give them to you. Going beyond the limits and promising freedom that can only exist in your dream, this energy drink has made a revolution in the consumption habits of the young and elderly. Need your project to get done a day before the deadline? No sleep, a bit of creativity, and a couple of Red Bull cans will help you do it. Excessive sugar and caffeine could never taste so good without that magician brand promise. The communication strategy of the Red Bull in the means of sponsoring extreme sports is a part of that dream, that can help you become a part of this community of fearless men and women with the dream to fly had come true.
Video game heroes, Marvell Studio Avengers, and X-Men would also sell us a dream of eternity, supernatural power, and the ability to change the world. And they have risen to a revolution that changed our way of thinking, our beliefs, and the entire galaxy we live in. In Ancient Greece, they would dream about discovering Space and going to the moon, and SpaceX has done it.
The world has significantly changed since the times I watched Bond’s movies with flying cars as a child to the world where Teslas will give you the feeling you are not a personal driver of yourself, but a fairy tale King/Queen of the world where your super Hi-tech iron horse takes you where you want.
Fly high, dream big, and then go back to your sing-room apartment in the city outskirts. There is a dissonance between the real world and the dream world, where you can taste the rainbow by chewing Skittles. I would not judge telling that it’s bad or good to dream that big. Because we’ve got a lot of examples where boys from slums would become a billionaire because of the posters of the Disney and Marvell heroes he would have under his pillow in his childhood. But at the same time, everyone can recall at least one sad story of the guys with obsessive-compulsive disorder thinking the game world is real, and they can easily make friends with Ariana Grande just from their room in Iowa.
Not going that negative, the thing we must accept is that Magician brands changed our buying habits in the following way:
- We don’t buy colors, forms, and tastes. We buy a story behind them
- We don’t want products. We want the unique experience they can give us
- We want not only our problems solved, but also a feeling that they have been solved easily with the wave of a magic wand
- Sometimes we need that sweet lie slimming underwear can bring us
- We want to be the one and only, even in the moments we use a paper towel.
So, any time you go to the supermarket, think about what you put into your cart and why 😏
