The Firm, the Author, and the Persona: A Literary Model of the Source of Advertising

Abstract

This paper presents a model of the source of advertising based on a tripartite distinction between message sponsorship, creation, and articulation. The distinction is based on the concept of the persona, a theoretical construct drawn from literary criticism to disentangle extra-textual historical authorship from intra-textual representation. The paper first defines the persona and delineates its relationship to brand personality and brand image. It then discusses three of its characteristics — verisimilitude, omniscience, and flexibility — with implications for advertising strategy. These implications relate to the persona's role in facilitating consumer comprehension and to managerial control. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research to operationalize the construct, to examine its creation, and to study its historical development.