Thearetical Concepts

February 4, 2019

Thea Cooke

The hero's journey, or monomyth, is a well-known template for story design. Popularized by Joseph Campbell in his book The Hero With A Thousand Faces, it is a collection of stages that a hero goes through in order to obtain a goal, and hopefully transform in the process… The hero's journey is an analytical expression of what we often see as "just good storytelling," so it makes sense that elements of it would appear in the most engaging or award-winning ads produced today, even if creators are using it unintentionally.

January 11, 2018

Thea Cooke

Tensity in Storytelling

As someone who works in advertising during the day and writes fiction at night, I'm often struck by the crossover potential of so many tools and techniques to strengthen my work in both fields. Creative fiction and brand campaigns are both different kinds of stories, and there are some concepts in advertising that I've realized can also be utilized to create compelling fiction.

There is a Y&R consultancy, the Brand Asset Valuator® (BAV®) Group, that tracks how brands are perceived by the public and how those perceptions shift over time. They've discovered that the most successful brands have an inherent tension which makes them interesting, memorable, and irresistible. They defined this as Brand Tensity®.

Brand Tensity: The convergence of two or more contradictory forces, resulting in excitement, anticipation, and a palpable energy.

February 26, 2017

Thea Cooke

Good Advertising Is Good Storytelling

At the highest level, advertising needs to give people a reason to love a brand even if they never intend to buy the product. In other words, they need to not only entertain viewers, they need to make them believe in something, just as all good stories do.

Well-crafted ad campaigns have deeply human themes about belonging, self expression, and the capacity for human kindness. They have messages which transcend commerce, and most importantly that evoke intense emotion in the audience. When I examined some of the world's most iconic brands through this lens, it proved true.

September 2, 2016

Thea Cooke

How On Demand Has Changed Episodic Storytelling

Today, on demand has usurped cable's throne. "Channels" such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu are now publishers as well as distributors, producing original shows in addition to serving up other publishers' media. And as the volume of these titles grows, we can see how the new format has changed the way these stories are told.

May 21, 2016

Thea Cooke

What is a Story?

A story is an account of something that changes.

In its simplest form, that's all that it is. Some define stories as entertainment, but that merely skims the surface of why people crave, devour, and want to share them. A story is about the world or people who change around us, and the subsequent effect; whether it's through a lesson learned, a moral told, or even a cautionary warning (tragedies are usually about something or someone who needs to change, but fails).