A brand’s archetype can frequently be the key to connecting with its ideal customer base. But sometimes, your archetype can start to feel more like a limitation than an opportunity. While their purpose is to provide an important framework for defining your aesthetic, your brand archetype is meant to be a series of guidelines, not a permanent constraint. All of that to say, sometimes you need to break the rules in order to reinforce their power – and genuinely communicate your brand’s story.
“The Lover” is the most sensuous (and sensual) brand archetype, which is why it is often utilized by beauty brands. But for this video, Lemonlight client Beauty with a Twist wanted to live up to their name by actively subverting their archetype. Check out our twist on the stereotypically licentious shampoo commercial below:
Comedy can be an incredibly powerful for poking fun at brand archetypes – especially your own. It shows that a brand doesn’t take itself too seriously, and is open to light-hearted criticism; both of which serve to make it more approachable.
If your brand is just starting out, this kind of teasing intimacy can be invaluable for gradually growing a customer base. While most people don’t feel a personal connection to enormous, impersonal conglomerates like Apple or Honda, small businesses live and die by the love of their community. Through gentle satire, that community is able to peer behind the curtain and relate more easily to your brand.
So how can your brand subvert archetypes without totally pivoting away from them? Like most creative questions, the answer is balance – finding that fine line between teasing and skewering. For Beauty with a Twist, our comedy served a double-purpose: It poked fun at standard beauty commercials and reinforced that these products are not tested on animals. Think about ways that you can fold valuable information into your subversion, effectively killing two birds with one stone. Either way, remember that you are still telling your brand’s unique story – stay true to yourself, and your video content will rise above any archetype.