ACTANTIAL MODEL

Video advertising is more effective in involving the receiver when there is narrative, and it tells a story.
The actantial model is a interesting and useful tool in creating a story.

It's composed of six elements:

• subject (who performs the action)
• object (purpose of the action)
• helper (who helps the subject)
• opponent (who hinders the subject)
• sender (who prompts the subject at the start of the story)
• receiver (who benefits in the end from the object or final actant of the communication)

For instance, in a video advertising of a car brand, a old man wants to buy a car for his son.

He doesn’t have much money and this is a problem. Suddenly he wins the lottery and so he can give a new car to his son.

• the old man is the subject
• to buy a car is the object
• the lack of money is the opponent
• to win the lottery is the helper
• the son is the receiver (and the public at home, too)
• the old man is the sender (and the car brand, too)

An example of fashion advertising underpinned by the actantial model is the Gucci advertising campaign in 2011 GUCCI GUILTY FOR HIM MEN’S FRAGRANCE.
The story is simple: a rugged young cowboy roars into the metropolis on a blazing motorcycle, breaks a glass wall and steps into a bar where he meets a gorgeous blonde who is seduced by him and by his intense and beguiling fragrance.

The six actants in the GUCCI GUILTY FOR HIM SPOT are:

1. SUBJECT
   [HIM]
   (symbolized by his motorcycle)
2. OBJECT
   [TO POSSESS HER]
   (symbolized by the woman’s jewel he keeps in his hand at the end)
3. HELPER
   [THE GUCCI GUILTY FOR HIM FRAGRANCE AND THE POWER OF HIS MOTORCYCLE]
   (the icon of his sexual power)
4. OPPONENT
   [THE LONG ROAD TO REACH HIS DESTINATION, THE GLASS WALL]
   (the icon of the bottle that separates him from the fragrance)
5. SENDER
   [THE GUCCI BRAND]
6. RECEIVER
   [THE TARGET]

The actantial model can be used not only in video but in images, too.