Table 1.
Plot descriptions of the singular plot and embedded plot stories.
| Singular plots | Plot description |
|---|---|
| (1) Efteling: Time for Each Other https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEZDj6oiinc | A daughter of about 10 years old (=Heroine) in a family of four recreates the Efteling experience at home by decorating a room completely in the Efteling atmosphere, and in doing so she recreates the family’s experience of unitedness in pleasure and wonder such as they experienced at De Efteling. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: evoking desire for togetherness connected to the Efteling experience, inviting the consumer to seek similar experiences with the brand. | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): caring and inspiring | |
| (2) Efteling: The Efteling Amazes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX1UBS27NNk | Max of about 8 years old (=Hero) introduces himself on his 1st day in a new class. He narrates about the unlikely adventures and achievements he made, receiving skeptical reactions of the teacher and classmates with one exception: a girl who understands that he is narrating his Efteling experience. Brand’s presumed goal: supporting, and evoking desire for, self-confidence and wonder connected to the Efteling experience, inviting the consumer to seek similar experiences with the brand. |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): charismatic and inspiring | |
| (3) Nike: Choose go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MgmbV5SbsA | A girl of about 20 years old (=Heroine) hears the news that the world has stopped turning. Inspired by her mouse who runs in his wheel, she starts running and encourages other people to join her in an effort to start the world’s turning again. This ultimately worldwide attempt succeeds, but runners appear to go the wrong way, and upon a new call they turn around to make the world turn the right way. At the end, the mouse in its wheel is shown again. Brand’s presumed goal: evoking enjoyment and promoting bonding by enabling the heroes’ enterprise. |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): smart and charismatic | |
| (4) Coca-Cola: The Gardener https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgimZUJp5FM | A group of girls of about 20 years old tempts a young gardener (=Hero) to open a shaken can of Coca-Cola, thus wetting his t-shirt. He takes it off, wrings it out and goes on to mow the lawn, leaving the girls in awe. Brand’s presumed goal: evoke enjoyment and reflect sexual attractiveness in identification with (consumption of) the brand |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): charismatic and strong | |
| (5) Coca-Cola: Thank your Christmas Hero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScD_XiKlOLg | A boy of about 10 years old (=Hero) travels with a slay full of coca cola bottles and offers one secretly to people he encounters who are doing their best for others on Christmas eve, including – at the end – Santa Claus himself. Brand’s presumed goal: evoke enjoyment and promote altruism in identification with (consumption of) the brand |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): caring and inspiring | |
| (6) Coca-Cola: Pool boy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRigYg2dRZo | A brother and sister of about 20 years old (= Heroes) compete who reaches first with the pool boy to offer him a bottle of Coca-Cola. After overcoming various obstacles along the way, they finally face the pool boy, only to find out that their mother has already offered him a Coke. Brand’s presumed goal: evoke enjoyment and promote playful competition, sexual attractiveness and tolerance in identification with (consumption of) the brand |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): caring (empathy, tolerance) and inspiring | |
| (7) Heineken: Worlds Aparthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yyDUOw-BlM&t=6s | Six adult characters of various ages and both genders (=Heroes) are, in antagonist couples, challenged to solve a build a construction puzzle that in the end appears to be a bar, at which they drink a Heineken beer together. The challenges they have to overcome involve sharing and understanding their mutual attitudes and private histories. Brand’s presumed goal: promote mutual understanding in identification with (consumption of) the brand |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): smart and caring (empathy, tolerance) | |
| (8) Heineken: Champions League https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GBltOHBMj0 | Three male characters between 25 and 30 years old, sitting on a terrace, are challenged to perform several soccer-related assignments striving for the missing part of a ticket to the Champions League Final. Their girlfriends, who are involved in the challenge, have the other half. In the end, the winning man (=Hero) is united with his girlfriend and the two have together one whole ticket. Brand’s presumed goal: evoke enjoyment and promote playful competition in identification with (consumption of) the brand. |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): strong and smart | |
| Embedded story plots | Plot description |
| (1) Dove: Beauty on your own terms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XOa7zVqxA4 | Six women of various ages (=Heroines) narrate the challenges they had to overcome in accepting their own beauty on their own terms, despite critical comments. Brand’s presumed goal: supporting self-confidence by identification and representation of heroines. |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): charismatic and inspiring | |
| (2) Dove: They said… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7EjwAfMTPY | Jessica of about 30 years old (=Heroine) narrates how she, being a curvy beauty blogger, overcame the negative judgments of others on her physical appearance when she decided to start a beauty blog on her own terms. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: supporting self-confidence by identification and representation of heroine. | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): selfless (courage) and inspiring | |
| Embedded story plots | Plot description |
| (3) Pickwick: Beau’s Tea Topic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBi77q-BY3s | Beau of about 12 years old (=Heroine) narrates how she and her mother have become estranged due to mom’s overusing her smartphone. She invites her mother to go for a picnic. When sitting down, she presents a tea bag with a personalized label asking her mother not to use her smartphone for 1 day. Mother and daughter discuss the matter over a cup of tea, agree and leave the scene arm in arm. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: promoting confrontation and connection by enabling the hero’s enterprise and enabling the consumer to partake in similar missions | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): selfless (courage) and caring (empathy) | |
| (4) Pickwick: Sanne’s Tea Topic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--kM4PXABnk | Sanne of about 25 years old (=Heroine) narrates how she used to bully Baukje, a former classmate. She invites Baukje to meet in their old classroom. When sitting down, she gives her teabag with a personalized label, asking to forgive her. Both women break into tears, embrace and discuss things over a cup of tea. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: promoting confrontation and reconciliation by enabling the hero’s enterprise and enabling the consumer to partake in similar missions | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): selfless (courage) and caring (empathy) | |
| (5) Innocent: Sustainable Bananas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grltlvtOJTo | Innocent (=Hero) narrates how it successfully sought for ways to deal with environmental and societal responsible banana growing companies. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: promoting enduring sustainability by identifying their own enterprise and enabling the consumer to partake in this mission | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): resilient and reliable (social responsibility) | |
| (6) Innocent: The Big Knit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1b854BDX7w | Two elderly people, a woman and a man, narrate how they suffered from loneliness but have been brought together by Age UK, an organization supported by Innocent (=Hero) who contributes for each additional knit hat on Innocent bottles. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: supporting altruism by enabling consumers to partake in this enterprise | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): caring (altruism) and reliable (social responsibility) | |
| (7) Nike: Meet the runners: Lelisa Desisa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOdYGKNMj7s | Lelisa’s coach narrates how Lelisa – a young and highly talented running athlete (=Hero) – is gradually growing toward being a prize-winning marathon runner. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: supporting perseverance and self-manifestation by identification and representation of the hero | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): strong and resilient | |
| (8) Nike: Unlimited Mo Farrah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_shug-k45Oo | Famous running athlete Mo Farrah (=Hero) narrates, supported by images of himself in his training facilities, what it takes for him – training far from his home for long periods of time – to be a prize-winning runner and why he makes the effort. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: supporting perseverance and self-manifestation by identification and representation of hero | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): strong and resilient | |
| (9) Nike: Unlimited courage: Chris Mosier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gq8PO9XK2Y | Triathlon athlete Chris Mosier (=Hero) narrates, elicited by questions posed to him by a narrator during various training contexts, what uncertainties he – being a transgender – had to overcome when aiming for the men’s national athletic team. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: supporting perseverance and tolerance by identification and representation of hero | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): resilient and caring (tolerance) | |
| (10) Nike: Until we all win: Serena Williams https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ripg_LfJIeM | Multiple prize-winning tennis player Serena Williams (=Heroine) narrates, supported by images of successes and failures during her long career, what negative opinions of others she had to overcome to finally accept her own way of combining being a winner and being a woman. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: supporting perseverance and self-confidence by identification and representation of the hero | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): resilient and inspiring | |
| (11) WNF: Tiger Protector Pavel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XOhBhKVtfU | Wildlife protector Pavel (=Hero) narrates how he makes an effort to protect tigers from poaching and maltreatment in the Russian wildlife, while he faces challenges such as severe cold and dangerous animals; in retrospective, he is shown to have lost a tiger due to poaching. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: representing sustainability and altruism by identifying their own enterprise and enabling the consumer to partake in this mission | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): selfless (courage) and reliable (social responsibility) | |
| (12) WNF: Tiger Protector Singye https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_u2h4oK_zQ | Wildlife protector Singye (=Heroine) narrates how she makes an effort to protect tigers from poaching in the Bhutan wildlife, while she is inspired by the Bhutan culture faces challenges such as dangerous poachers; in retrospective, she is shown to have been under the threat of poachers. |
| Brand’s presumed goal: representing sustainability and altruism by identifying their own enterprise and enabling the consumer to partake in this mission. | |
| Reflected Heroic traits (moral values): selfless (courage) and reliable (social responsibility) | |