The Everyman Archetype (also known as The Good Guy or The Regular Guy)
Harmonious, humble and authentic, the Everyman brand blends into the local community like your nicest neighbour around the BBQ. This archetype is easy to relate to because, well, they're just your average bloke... I mean, brand. This archetype is so universally liked, it has the ability to appeal to a mass audience.
The Everyman Archetype likes to fit in
The Everyman Archetype likes to fit in - to be excluded is one of its worst fears. To avoid it, the Everyman encourages people to get along, facilitating exactly that. Kind of like a good neighbour. These brands tend to emit a friendly acceptance for all, no matter size, ethnicity or gender.
The Everyman Archetype Strengths & characteristics
The Everyman brand is relatable, and empathetic. These brand's stories can reflect common lived experiences, evoking empathy in the target market. These brands can be easy to resonate with, making it a versatile branding strategy for a business.
- Relatable
- Friendly
- Empathetic
- Humble, unassuming
- Approachable
This brand is often the resilient underdog, humble and unassuming. This makes it an approachable brand that is often positioned as affordability and value. For this reason, brands that offer a product or service suitable to a mass audience like a food and beverage company, a large retailer, non-profit or financial entity can create a sense of reliability by centring their branding on this archetype.
Examples of the everyman Archetype In Branding
Here are 5 examples of brands that have adopted characteristics of the Everyman archetype into their branding:
- McDonalds often features everyday people enjoying McDonalds food and drink. Their ads often include a diverse range of people making it relatable to many.
- Toyota positions itself as a reliable and practical choice for individuals and families of all shapes and sizes.
- Target offers affordable items at convenient locations all across the country. Its campaigns feature people you'd see anywhere around your neighbourhood, like a mum and her kid, teenagers or typical dads.
- Levi's use the everyman archetype to promote a sense of authentic, timeless, durability for their jeans. Levi's should be a staple in everyone's wardrobe.
- Coles supermarkets promote affordability, value and healthy, happy communities. The brand often aligns with community initiatives including the Coles Little Athletics program which promotes healthy lifestyles.
These brands try to make themselves the 'norm'. The go-to choice for the general public.
The Everyman Archetype On Social Media
The everyman brand comes alive on social media. They foster a friendly community, often utilising community made content and avoiding stock photos of people. An example of this is Hershey's chocolate - running cooking contests like in the example social media post below. They'll also nominate followers as 'official tasters', their brand's mission to create a 'sweeter world'. Ain't that somethin'?
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Copywriting For The Everyman Archetype
Writing copy for brand's that fit this archetype is pretty neat, because they need everyday language. Nothing superfluous or too clever, just make your copy easy to read and understand. Use a tone of voice that's sincere and approachable. Tell stories that people can relate to. Avoid anything that sounds too formal or creates distance between the brand and the reader. The Everyman is a personable, friendly brand that's both welcoming and genuine.
Words for the everyman archetype
Power words are useful for marketers, offering an easy shortcut to frame a product or service. Examples of powerwords you could use for the Everyman Archetype include:
- Affordable eg. 'Save money on essentials'
- Everyday (Think Woolies: 'Everyday reward card')
- Reliable
- Convenient
- Simple
- Friendly
- Trusted
These are the kind of words that emphasis the brand's attributes and resonate with everyday people. Woolworths for example, locally called Woolies here, offer an 'Everyday Rewards Card'. The loyalty program was once called, 'Woolworths Rewards', but they swapped it to a good ol' power word, 'Everyday' - encouraging people to use it exactly that much.
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The Everyman Archetype Weaknesses
Every brand archetype has its pros and cons. If you're aware of its weaknesses, you can lay plans to work around them.
The Everyman archetype in branding can seek so much to 'fit in' or be relatable to 'everyone' that it can look both bland and completely lack differentiation in the marketplace. Ugh. That could be a marketer's worst nightmare. The Everyman brand still needs a Unique Selling Proposition. You can't afford to be bland or so generic that nobody remembers, bothers, or cares about your brand. This brand archetype risks being boring to the point of commoditization: which is a race to the bottom in pricing and creates opportunity for a unique competitor to eat into any market share its established.
To get around this, make sure your brand persona, while embodying the character of the Everyman archetype, is still likeable enough that it's not easily replaced. Kind of like the main guy Joel in the video game and tv series, Last Of Us. Pretty much everyone likes him, he's your average bloke after all, but he's also special enough that we wouldn't want another actor to take his place, right?
Be like Joel.
Wondering what your brand archetype may be? Take the Brand Archetype Assessment.
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