Mark and Pearson’s (2001) archetypes
| Archetype | Description | Characteristic | Examples of brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caregiver | They want to protect others from harm, to help, to take care | Caring, compassion and generosity. Protective, devoted, sacrificing and maternal/parental. Benevolent, friendly, helping and trusting | Nivea |
| Regular guy | They have the basic desire of connection with others; want to belong, to fit in | Working class or common person, the neighbor, ordered, sometimes fatalistic and self-depreciative, realistic, and disappointed humanist. Having the basic desire of connection with others, want to belong, to fit in | GAP, Visa |
| Innocent | Desire for simple purity, goodness, happiness, faith and optimism | Pure, faithful, naive, child-like character; humble, tranquil, looking for happiness and simplicity | Coke, Disney |
| Explorer | Desire to be free, to find out who they are by exploring the world. Long to experience a better, more authentic and rewarding life | Independent, adventurer. Seeks discovery and fulfillment. Often solitary and indomitable. They want to discover who they are, seeking to explore the world and have an authentic and fulfilling life | Amazon, Starbucks |
| Sage | They want to find the truth. Use their intelligence and analysis to understand the world | Value enlightening and knowledge, truth and understanding; a bit pretentious. They use their intelligence to understand the world, to discover the truth | McKinsey, Harvard |
| Hero | They want to prove their own worth through courageous and difficult action. Aim to exercise mastery to improve the world | Courageous, impetuous, rescuer, crusader. Wants to prove his/her own value through courageous and tough action. Triumphs over adversities. Their skills are persistence, strength, determination, discipline, challenge and ability | Nike |
| Outlaw | Their basic desire is revenge or revolution: They want to destroy what does not work for them or to society | Represented by the rebellious iconoclast, the survivor and a rule-breaker. Can be wild, destructive and a struggler. Revolutionary | Harley Davidson, Apple |
| Magician | They want to know the fundamental laws and functioning of the world or the universe and realize dreams | The visionary, the alchemist. Focused on natural forces, transformations and metamorphoses. They want to know how the world works and influence its transformation | Vanish, Pantene |
| Lover | They want to achieve intimacy and experience sensual pleasure. Aim to maintain a relationship with people | Intimate, romantic, sensual and especially passionate. Seductive, delighted, tempestuous and whimsical. Warm, playful, erotic and enthusiastic partner | Victoria’s Secret, Godiva |
| Creator | They want to create something valuable and lasting, participate in forming a vision | Represented as innovative, artistic, self-driven, inventive, a dreamer. Often non-social. Focused on quality | LEGO |
| Jester | They want to live in the present with full joy and entertain the world | Living for fun. Usually ironic and mirthful. Sometimes irresponsible. Live in the moment | Pepsi, Burger King |
| Ruler | They want to control, raise a family, and/or build a successful company or community | Represented by a strong sense of power and control. The leader, the boss, and the judge. Influential and stubborn. High level of dominance | American Express, Microsoft |
| Archetype | Description | Characteristic | Examples of brands |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caregiver | They want to protect others from harm, to help, to take care | Caring, compassion and generosity. Protective, devoted, sacrificing and maternal/parental. Benevolent, friendly, helping and trusting | Nivea |
| Regular guy | They have the basic desire of connection with others; want to belong, to fit in | Working class or common person, the neighbor, ordered, sometimes fatalistic and self-depreciative, realistic, and disappointed humanist. Having the basic desire of connection with others, want to belong, to fit in | GAP, Visa |
| Innocent | Desire for simple purity, goodness, happiness, faith and optimism | Pure, faithful, naive, child-like character; humble, tranquil, looking for happiness and simplicity | Coke, Disney |
| Explorer | Desire to be free, to find out who they are by exploring the world. Long to experience a better, more authentic and rewarding life | Independent, adventurer. Seeks discovery and fulfillment. Often solitary and indomitable. They want to discover who they are, seeking to explore the world and have an authentic and fulfilling life | Amazon, Starbucks |
| Sage | They want to find the truth. Use their intelligence and analysis to understand the world | Value enlightening and knowledge, truth and understanding; a bit pretentious. They use their intelligence to understand the world, to discover the truth | McKinsey, Harvard |
| Hero | They want to prove their own worth through courageous and difficult action. Aim to exercise mastery to improve the world | Courageous, impetuous, rescuer, crusader. Wants to prove his/her own value through courageous and tough action. Triumphs over adversities. Their skills are persistence, strength, determination, discipline, challenge and ability | Nike |
| Outlaw | Their basic desire is revenge or revolution: They want to destroy what does not work for them or to society | Represented by the rebellious iconoclast, the survivor and a rule-breaker. Can be wild, destructive and a struggler. Revolutionary | Harley Davidson, Apple |
| Magician | They want to know the fundamental laws and functioning of the world or the universe and realize dreams | The visionary, the alchemist. Focused on natural forces, transformations and metamorphoses. They want to know how the world works and influence its transformation | Vanish, Pantene |
| Lover | They want to achieve intimacy and experience sensual pleasure. Aim to maintain a relationship with people | Intimate, romantic, sensual and especially passionate. Seductive, delighted, tempestuous and whimsical. Warm, playful, erotic and enthusiastic partner | Victoria’s Secret, Godiva |
| Creator | They want to create something valuable and lasting, participate in forming a vision | Represented as innovative, artistic, self-driven, inventive, a dreamer. Often non-social. Focused on quality | LEGO |
| Jester | They want to live in the present with full joy and entertain the world | Living for fun. Usually ironic and mirthful. Sometimes irresponsible. Live in the moment | Pepsi, Burger King |
| Ruler | They want to control, raise a family, and/or build a successful company or community | Represented by a strong sense of power and control. The leader, the boss, and the judge. Influential and stubborn. High level of dominance | American Express, Microsoft |
Sources: Adapted from Mark and Pearson (2001), Faber and Mayer (2009)
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