Adam Morgan writes very eloquently about the value of monsters and the value they have in stories: raise the stakes, add drama and conflict and most importantly give the ‘hero’ an adversary and position the hero as being the virtuous one to save the day. An enemy is a threat to you, but a monster is a threat to the larger community. Adam then goes on to talk about how “small human brands fight a large and faceless monsters” with the example of brands who have explicitly created monsters in order to position themselves as the champion of the community.
Dove’s monster is the artificial fashion industry. Richard Branson’s monster is BA, Sky and the Goliaths. Method’s monster is toxicity. Apple’s monster is Microsoft (explicity shown in their latest campaign.) Google’s monster is evil. Nintendo’s monster is Sony & Microsoft.
Do all brands need a monster, an enemy to fight, metaphorically or physically? Is it a common enemy - or is simply something that coalesces us into a concerted action with one another? And are brands that have a shared ‘agenda’ whatever that agenda might be, are they more appealing to women?
The academic and autism specialist Simon Baron Cohen writes: women tend to empathise, men tend to systemise.
“The female brain is predominantly hard-wired for empathy. The male brain is predominantly hard-wired for understanding and building systems. Systemising and empathising are different kinds of processes. You use one process - empathising - for making sense of an individual’s behaviour and identifying others feelings and responding to them. Systemising - is about analysing and constructing a system and predicting. They are not mystical processes but are grounded in our neurophysiology.”
Based on this premise, it seems women are likely to respond to a situation where they can identify with the feelings of others. A community that they can feel part of. A movement that they can belong to. A safe haven for them and for those around then. In short, a shared agenda.
Every brand might not necessarily a monster, but to connect with women, they certainly need an ally.
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