The Everyman/ Regular Guy Archetype

The Everyman/ Regular Guy Archetype

By Nitinder Dutt and Deepa Soman

“Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolised” – Albert Einstein

The theory of archetypes was introduced by Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung. He believed that universal, mystic characters – archetypes – reside within the unconscious minds of people all over the world. Archetypes represent the fundamental human motifs of our experience as we evolved, consequently the evoke deep emotions.

The Regular Guy or the Everyman archetype celebrates the virtue of being the common man. Simple values and a need for belonging helps them to develop wholesome virtues that endows them with a realistic perspective of the world. The Everyman takes pride in their down to earth ethos. Their image is honest, trustworthy and lacking pretence. In the world view of the Everyman all women and men are created equal. This gives them a keen sense of empathy for those who struggle to fit in.

The core desire of Everyman is to connect with others, so that they can fit in and belong as one of the crowd. The victories sought by the Everyman are not for self alone, but together as a group. The Everyman archetype is for those brands which give people a sense of belonging with everyday functionality, low to moderate prices, products produced by a company differentiated from elitist or high-priced brands[1].

The Everyman ultimately progresses into the humanitarian who strongly believes in the dignity and decency of every individual they meet, regardless of their circumstances.

However, when taken too far, the Everyman can be a victim of the abuse of others, because of their fear of being alone or they may go along with the lynch mob to be one of the ‘gang’

The Everyman has an ‘INCLUDER’[2] mindset and is accepting of others despite their individual differences. They display a sense of awareness of those who feel left out and make efforts to include them.

The Everyman is perhaps the most centred of all twelve archetypes especially when armed with confidence and self-belief to avoid the trap of going along with a group out of fear of being left behind or left alone.

Brands that embody the traits of Everyman Archetype make the customers feel OK just as they are and celebrates the wisdom of simplicity. IKEA, Levis, Wendy’s are some examples of Everyman archetype brands.[3] Indian brands like Maggi, Big Bazaar, Amul, Maruti, Patanjali are examples that represent the common man.

Everyman celebrities include, Will Smith, Sushant Singh Rajput, Vidya Balan, Irrfan Khan, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The recent spate of Bollywood movies like ‘Toilet Ek Prem Katha[4]’ and ‘Pad Man’[5] also celebrate the Everyman’s spirit to include everyone in the mainframe, let no one be left behind. My favourite Everyman’s archetype movie is 1976 flick ‘Choti si Baat’[6] starring Amol Palekar and Vidya Sinha. I suggest watching it as a homework to understand the Everyman Archetype, the entertainment along with it is just a collateral benefit!

[1] http://visionone.co.uk/consumer/brand-research/brand-archetypes-2/regular-guy-brand-archetype/

[2] Gallup Strength Finder

[3] http://www.inspectorinsight.com/archetypes/the-everyman-archetypes-11/

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Toilet:_Ek_Prem_Katha&oldid=821115177

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pad_Man_(film)&oldid=821120247

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chhoti_Si_Baat&oldid=795637623