The re-invention of myth in sports-related advertising : the use of the Greek epic hero characteristics for emotional branding enhancement

Abstract

The scope of this dissertation was to investigate to what extent the hero narrative as portrayed in mythology, is still employed and adapted within the field of advertising, and to analyse the effect of this narrative on contemporary viewers. More specifically, the hero myth in sports-related adverts was investigated through the analysis of three adverts: Nike's 'The Jogger' and 'London', deriving from the 2012 'Find Your Greatness' campaign, and Reebok's 'Live with Fire'. Focus groups and in-depth interviews were employed in this study in order to test whether Joseph Campbell's (1968) theory of universality was applicable in today's world. The participants of the focus groups provided contrast due to having had a mixed group of people in one group, exclusively athletes in another, and exclusively non-athletes in the last. The empirical study exhibited that although the vision of the hero has shifted, the basic premise still persists as participants did not acknowledge a hero, in the general sense of the term within the protagonists of the adverts, but rather stated that a hero exists within every individual. The hero as an archetype is thus fragmented, despite that the narrative of the myth is structured. This notion was reflected through the perception of contemporary advert viewers and shed light on the general public and their perceptions of the hero within such adverts. Therefore, the definition of the hero adapted according to how the person viewed a hero which revealed how Campbell's theory is still applicable, despite it being altered to suit the viewer's perception of a hero.