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Many ads also tell stories that contain elements found in myths (narratives that convey a culture’s deepest values and social norms). For example, an ad might take the shape of a minidrama or sitcom, complete with characters, settings, and plots. Perhaps a character might experience a conflict or problem of some type. The character resolves the situation by the end of the ad, usually by purchasing or using the product. The product and those who use it emerge as the heroes of the story.

For instance, in the early 2000s, ads for GEICO car insurance featured TV commercials that looked like thirty-second sitcoms. The ad’s plot lines told the story of cavemen trying to cope in the modern world but who found themselves constantly ridiculed—for being cavemen (“so easy a caveman can do it”). The point of the ads included associating the product with humor, making the audience feel slightly superior to slightly dim-witted prehistoric guys. The ads were funny and popular, and ABC actually commissioned a short-lived sitcom called Cavemen based on the ads’ characters.

^*Coca-Cola includes Diet Coke, Coke Light, and Coke Zero.

Source: “BrandZ Top 100 Most Powerful Brands 2011.” Millward Brown Optimor. http://millwardbrown.com/brandz/2011/report/.

Although most of us realize that ads telling stories create a fictional world, we often can’t help but get caught up in them. That’s because they reinforce our values and assumptions about how the world works. And they reassure us that by using familiar brand names—packaged in comforting ministories—we can manage the everyday tensions and problems that confront us.