Brands you already know

Brand archetype readings.

What brand archetype is Nike? Apple? Disney? Chanel? Each brand below is read as a character: the archetype that connects a market opportunity to a coherent brand, plus the counterweight that keeps it honest. Forty-eight readings, four per archetype.

Hero

The Hero brands.

Nike

The Hero, in full voice.

Duracell

Endurance as virtue.

FedEx

Certainty, delivered overnight.

Gatorade

Fuel for the fourth quarter.
Outlaw

The Outlaw brands.

Harley-Davidson

Refusal as identity.

Virgin

The establishment’s foil.

Diesel

Provocation as posture.

Liquid Death

Water with a death wish.
Magician

The Magician brands.

Disney

The architecture of wonder.

Tesla

Transformation marketed as inevitability.

Polaroid

The moment made material.

Dyson

Engineering that reads as sorcery.
Lover

The Lover brands.

Chanel

Desire as craft.

Godiva

Small indulgence as ritual.

Tiffany & Co.

Desire encased in robin’s-egg blue.

Häagen-Dazs

Indulgence with intent.
Jester

The Jester brands.

Old Spice

Absurdity as confidence.

M&M’s

Play as product.

Skittles

The non-sequitur as voice.

Snickers

The straight-faced reframe.
Everyman

The Everyman brands.

IKEA

Design for the rest of us.

Levi’s

The uniform of ordinary life.

Budweiser

A beer, not a statement.

Target

Design democracy.
Ruler

The Ruler brands.

Rolex

The crown as argument.

Mercedes-Benz

Order rendered in engineering.

American Express

Membership as station.

Hermès

Restraint as power.
Creator

The Creator brands.

Apple

The tool is the artifact.

Lego

Imagination, made structural.

Adobe

The maker’s standard kit.

Crayola

A box of possible.
Caregiver

The Caregiver brands.

Volvo

Safety as ethics.

Johnson & Johnson

The industrial Caregiver.

Campbell’s

Warmth as product.

TOMS

The purchase that gives.
Innocent

The Innocent brands.

Coca-Cola

A world in harmony.

Dove

The promise of goodness restored.

Aveeno

Nature, uncomplicated.

Innocent Drinks

Little drinks that do you good.
Sage

The Sage brands.

The New York Times

The record of what happened.

Google

Knowledge as interface.

BBC

Authority as sourcing.

Wikipedia

Knowledge, citation-led.
Explorer

The Explorer brands.

The North Face

The edge as destination.

REI

The outdoors as classroom.

Jeep

Go anywhere.

Patagonia

Out into the wild, and back to defend it.