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Using Gilligan's Island for positioning

Gilligans island

In the sixth season of Mad Men, the episode called “A Man with a Plan” introduced a new concept—at least it was new to me:

What character from Gilligan’s Island is your product?

The ad men’s challenge was positioning margarine against butter: do we position our margarine as premium, low-cost, middle of the road, or something else?

Now, I can easily see using characters from TV show for buyer personas (although I’d probably be inclined to use Star Trek instead of Gilligan). Thurston Howell III & “Lovey” want to be seen as elite, so they would choose the premium brand regardless of cost. Ginger loves status and fame so she’d be inclined to buy a product recommended by famous people.

But can you apply this TV character approach to a product or brand? And what other TV shows would make a good short-hand for personas and positioning?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments.

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