The Rebel for Modern Brands
The Rebel: Revolutionary Brand Behaviors
Modern Rebel brands bring down oppressive institutions and transform systems that need change. Rebel brands bring about real change, breaking through stagnant and repressive thinking to advocate for a new way forward.
The 1960s were a time of Rebels, with countercultural heroes who ultimately promoted values of freedom for the whole society--even if they had very different definitions of freedom.
Many of these alternative values have been brought into power by baby boomers.
Brands that change how we work, live, communicate and love can have rebel archetype phases of identity. The American tradition of free speech is connected to American culture, media and art. Cultural revolution resonates with rebel consumers.
E-commerce as a whole has a marvelously liberated, rule-breaking Rebel quality to it.
The world of today does not follow established rules. It resembles the Wild West, with a lack of established rules of law and order.
Those with the most cunning and strength will prevail. Trickster figures have long been worshipped in many cultures, acting almost entirely according to instinct- what Freud might call the id.
The brand family: Rebel brands vs Explorer brands
Both the Rebel brand and the Explorer brand stand on the fringes of society, but all they want is to be free.
Rebels want to start a revolution. Both may feel alienated, but the Explorer experiences feelings of sadness and loneliness. A person who breaks out of or through society does so out of fear, frustration, anger, outrage, or exhilaration.
Rebels brands are prepared to break convention.
Rebel archetype brands may also appeal to responsible, hard working people, though not so much for their disruptive capabilities.
Successful lawyers or doctors might ride Harley-Davidsons or like ads for SUVs that depict frustrated drivers suddenly swerving off the road and driving through rural areas, breaking the rule of staying on the highway.
In the end, the rebel brand is motivated by achieving a more free state of being a human.
Ultimate Guide to Brand Archetype