Given the advancement of science and technology, myths would seem as past thing. Many ancient myths are ridiculed or slowly forgotten mainly because of our lack of knowledge about their origins, meaning and usefulness for our current life. By forgetting a myth, we are wasting an important source of ancestral wisdom that could provide a lot of inspiration to revitalize our brand strategies and facilitate better communication and identification of your brand with consumers.
Why are myths important?
We humans love stories and remember them more easily than “cold” data and numbers, devoid of meaning. Many eminent psychologists and philosophers, such as Carl Jung, affirm that human beings seek meaning through myths, and even affirm that, by our very human nature, we will always continue to believe in old myths or we will build new myths that are basically treated of similar stories, but with new characters in different contexts. From this perspective, the search for meaning can lead to positive acts (heroic feats, clearing obstacles, overcoming addictions, etc.) or negative acts (conspiracy theories, addictions or acts of violence, to name a few examples).
Archetypes
An archetype is each of the characters in a myth. The archetype represents a model, symbol, or example of some thought, attitude, or idea. Some of the most popular archetypes can be found in popular tales and stories such as Romeo and Juliet, Sleeping Beauty, Pinocchio, Star Wars, The Lion King, Harry Potter, etc. Although in all these examples the characters and circumstances change, in the background the essential message of the fight of good against evil, of the hero, the generous mother, the fatal woman, the wise man or the madman, just to mention is maintained some examples.
In the tale of Sleeping Beauty, the princess can be the archetype of the innocent princess and overprotected by her parents. Princess Aurora falls asleep because she is unaware of the existence of evil and she falls into the trap of the witch Maleficent who, as her name indicates, represents evil. The prince’s kiss at the end of the story symbolizes the awakening to reality and even the loss of innocence, the recognition that both good and evil exist and that it is important to be aware of them.
Brands that have managed to correctly understand the associated myths and archetypes have managed to establish strategies that have a greater resonance and meaning for their consumers.
Study case
Santa Clara, a milk brand of the Coca Cola group, recently launched in Mexico the campaign “A common moment becomes a holy moment” in which it alludes to the holy, good, generous, and protective woman. Although it is true that in Mexico the percentage of people who declare themselves Catholic has been decreasing in recent decades, all these attributes have a great resonance with Mexican consumers as they seek to establish a connection of the consumption of the product in very intimate family contexts in a country of strong Catholic heritage. Milk, nutrition, care, protection, and unconditional love of a woman are the central themes of this campaign.
Possibly this campaign would be controversial, rejected or at least not understood if it had been launched in some other country. However, by implementing this communication strategy, Santa Clara is achieving greater identification with its target consumers and achieving greater brand awareness compared to other milk brands that use other more conventional messages since it is appealing to the identification of its brand. with the mythological and spiritual legacy of a country.
If you are interested in discovering messages that have greater resonance and impact for your brand, send us an email to contact@acertiva.com
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