Arek Dvornechuck
Branding Expert
The Magician Archetype: 10 Branding Examples
The Magician archetype’s motto is: “Anything can happen”. They can be categorized as a shaman, visionary, inventor, catalyst, or charismatic leader.
What are some examples of the Magician archetype? If you want to use this archetype in your brand strategy, here are the best brand examples you can use.
The Magician brands use mystical, informed, and reassuring tones of voice. They frequently portray themselves as vivacious, likable, and intelligent.
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In this article, I'll show you ten examples of how to use the Magician archetype in branding.
NEW: Take the Brand Archetype Quiz to discover what archetype is best for your brand.
We will discuss the Magician archetype and its traits and characteristics.
Then I'll give you real-life examples of Magician brands and describe what they do in terms of the expression.
What kind of voice, message, colors, fonts, and imagery do they use to express that persona?
We'll also discuss some of the best use-case scenarios for the Magician archetype.
Moreover, I will show you how the Magician archetype fits into the overall archetypal framework.
We’ve got 12 main archetypes, but there are actually 60 archetypes in total.
The Magician archetype family consists of: the Alchemist, the Scientist, the Engineer, and the Innovator.
NEW: I just launched my new app Archetypes.chat that enables you to chat to AI characters that embody brand archetypes!
So without further ado, let's start with the difinition.
The Magician is a major archetype who has dreams that others regard as impossible.
The Magician archetype’s motto is: “Anything can happen”.
A magician can be described as a visionary, catalyst, innovator, charismatic leader, mediator, or shaman.
No character in film personifies the magician more than Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.
His experience definitely contributed to his intelligence and mystery.
Magic is a technology that allows dreams to come true.
A magician is a visionary with a mysterious ability to transform his fantasy into a fascinating reality.
Their charisma and unique perspective frequently enable them to achieve the impossible.
They believe that by reframing difficulties, problems can be transformed into opportunities.
They find a way to create something out of nothing, or to turn chaos into a miracle.
Moreover, the magician’s core desire is to make dreams come true.
Magician brands encompass all those who foster "magical moments," which others regard as impossible.
They are concerned about unanticipated negative consequences.
Now, let me show you some branding examples that use the Magician archetype.
What are some well-known examples of the Magician archetype?
These are the best examples of brands that you can use if you want to use the Magician archetype in your brand strategy.
Walt Disney is the perfect example of a Magician brand.
When it comes to all things magical, Disney is the go-to brand.
From their amazing movies and songs to the stunning Disneyland experience.
Even the opening credits for their movies have a special place in our hearts.
With the slogan "Where dreams come true", this brand brings magic and brilliance to our daily lives.
The second example of the Magician brand is Dyson.
They took something otherwise mundane—a vacuum cleaner—and revolutionized it, as well as the industry to which it belonged.
A vacuum cleaner that improves on a design that has worked before is a real magic trick.
Regularly leaves us questioning if Dyson engineers are waving a magic wand to create something so incredible.
Sony is another and totally different example of a brand adopting the Magician archetype.
Sony develops and markets electronic devices, home entertainment products, and imaging products and services.
The Magician archetype is a natural fit for this company because of its purpose;
“Fill the world with emotion, through the power of creativity and technology”.
Sony's products and services take their customers on a transformative journey, so the Magician archetype is a perfect fit.
Another example is Mary Kay Cosmetics, which is, as the name implies, a cosmetic and skincare company.
Mary Kay appears to have little to offer on the surface, but internally, they offer lucrative business opportunities.
Her slogan, "Enriching Women’s Lives", speaks for itself.
Of course, the product itself makes a difference—younger-looking skin, faded scars, and so on.
MAC Cosmetics is the world’s leading professional make-up institution with unparalleled expertise in artistic make-up.
This brand values diversity and individuality, and they cater to people of all ages, races, and genders.
They are a proud community of professional make-up artists who collaborate to make their vision a reality.
Magician characteristics such as passion, elegance, and love are also embedded in the company's values.
The most recent Snickers commercials, with the slogan "When you're hungry, you're not you," elevate the brand from candy to cultural phenomenon.
The advertisement implies that the candy bar possesses a mysterious power of transformation.
The "power" that transforms you here is sugar — but the message is clear.
The meaning is also clear—if you have Snickers in you, you will be better.
Since the introduction of the instant camera by Polaroid, it has become a magical symbol, capturing wonderful moments.
Taking a picture and seeing it instantly printed in a nostalgic format is a magical experience.
The brand already uses the word “magic” on its homepage and is focused on providing customers with an innovative product experience.
Red Bull is a drink that energizes and transforms you.
They support a variety of extreme events, including skydiving from great heights.
They promise that by drinking this drink, your mood and energy will improve, and you will be a completely different person.
MasterCard is a multinational payments technology company.
Their mission is to connect and power a global digital economy that benefits everyone everywhere.
It is now considered an innovative and knowledgeable brand.
And last but not least, is IBM, which stands for International Business Machine.
The IBM brand was renowned for producing computer systems for both business and science.
Furthermore, IBM altered the game in cloud computing and web services.
The brand is a beacon of innovation in the tech industry, exemplifying the Magician brand archetype.
Now that you've seen some Magician brand examples, let me summarize how the Magician archetype might be expressed in branding.
The Magician brands use mystical, informed, and reassuring tones of voice.
Magician brands typically market themselves as dynamic, charismatic, and astute.
The creativity and imagination of their target audience are another means of communication.
The message is often about a compelling vision, experiences of transformation, and the manifestation of miracles.
Their tone of voice is always passionate, sincere, and calm.
And in doing so, they leave their customers feeling transformed and astounded.
These brands aim to help people transform and turn messes into miracles like Sony.
Images portraying magical and amazing moments are commonly used as well like Walt Disney, for example.
Common image subjects include things like the sky, stars, and the sun.
Therefore, the culture within a Magician brand will be solely focused on creating remarkable things.
Magicians have the ability to lead people on a journey of change by experiencing magical moments.
They believe that we are limited only by our imagination.
In general, the Magician archetype is a good fit for brands that want to evoke mystery and mystique.
Magician archetype is best for entertainment, beauty, health, and more.
These brands might be associated with qualities like innocence, mystery, sophistication, and elegance.
They are often used for things like being able to take people on a journey of change.
The Magician brands are usually priced above average; these are usually moderately to high-priced products.
The Magician archetype might be a good option for those businesses that have grand visions and believe that success is inevitable if you use the right formula.
In summary, the Magician brand archetype is for visionaries and dream makers, and culture is oriented towards purity and perfection.
Magicians' brands fear stagnation, doubt, or uncertainty, and they seek to understand the world and transform it and its people with a unique vision or solution.
The Magician brand would do well in industries that involve entertainment, beauty, hospitality, health, and relaxation industries.
Finally, as I mentioned at the beginning of this article, there are 12 major archetypes.
The Magician archetype’s family includes Alchemist, Scientist, Engineer, and Innovator.
But there are also 4 sub-archetypes for each, so the Magician Archetype is like the representative of this family.
You can also go deeper and explore other archetypes within the Magician family.
The difference between the Magician and other archetypes is that the top-level archetypes share more in common with other family members.
That’s why they function as a unifying thread among each family member.
It’s like you have your own personality, and you may have a lot in common with your parents.
So here are the other four Magician Archetypes:
Even though I will not go deeper into explaining those sub-categories, at least you have some examples so that you can figure it out for yourself.
If you want to learn more, I recommend these two books:
(1) The Hero and the Outlaw by Margaret Mark and Carol Pearson
(2) Archetypes in Branding by Margaret Hartwell and Joshua C. Chen
Lastly, please check out my Brand Strategy Guide, where I explain how to use archetypes to develop a comprehensive brand strategy.
Check out my new course about brand archetypes (including the Magician)—it's a deep dive that elaborates on the free content available on my blog.
The preview of this course is also available on my Youtube channel (2nd module only).
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I'm a branding expert and graphic designer based in NY. I specialize in the development of brands: brand strategy, identity & web design. Need help with your project?—Get in touch
