The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes

Customer Reviews

I was somewhat doubtful about their premise, I must admit. Archetypes are powerful and they sell, undoubtedly, but that's for books and movies. But marketing?

Yet, books and movies are marketed and sometimes quite successfully. Steven King. Tom Clancy. Star Wars.

So, perhaps interweaving some of Jung's ideas and marketing is not such a bad idea, after all.

When I combined these very ancient concepts with some of the more modern strategies suggested in Michael levine's Guerrilla pR: Wired, I did see an impact.

Perhaps, despite claims to the contrary, we should not look to the future for marketing success, but to the past, for ideas that have a proven track record as ageless and as timeless as our dreams.

One criticism I have is the book gets into a little too much detail about specific projects and study methods. This happens when the authors talk about clients they have worked with. I don't mean the book is one long advertisement for their marketing consultant services, it is not.

You might appreciate how they relate a core group group of archetypes and how they relate to contemporary consumers. Such as Outlaw, Hero, etc. I found myself comparing these with what is generally called "demographics" and looking for possible fits, depending on the product or services sold.

What I very much appreciate is their mention of those who "manage meaning" have a responsibility to act ethically and think through their advertising and marketing campaigns. Having worked in consumer products and now in advertising, I know this is often not the case.

You'll get a lot out of this read.

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