Answer:
Hierarchical scale, also known as hierarchical proportion, has been a technique used by the visual arts, both in history, and today, to communicate the importance, the preeminence, and the power, of someone, or something. Painters and sculptors, for example, in old times, tended to use this technique in religious and certain social and political contexts, to underline the importance of a figure, a place, or a situation. And to do that, they simply made the object of importance much more prominent, either due to size, or colors used, in contrast to other objects in the paint or sculpture.
Today, this technique has not gone to disuse in the virtual arts, and especially in visual communication design, and most particularly in marketing. On the contrary, it is a technique that is very much used by marketing experts precisely because it causes an impression on potential buyers and leads the mind to be convinced that a specific product, or service, is better than others, and thus to be chosen.
One example in which marketers have used this technique are the Coca Cola ads, which have been so famous, particularly at Christmas. Essentially, the ads, especially on TV, present really prominent and engaging images of a family of bears, cute images at that, having fun and doing tender things as a family, with their Coca Cola products in the midst of it all. The focus first is not on the Coca Cola logo, or the product itself, but rather, on the feelings and emotions that consuming the product brings to the family of bears, as well as the feeling of family union. This later leads the consumer to see another shot where the product is underlined, and finally, a message that links good feelings, drinking the product and then the company itself.
The technique used by this company, and many others, has been so effective that today people still relate the consumption of Coca Cola with feelings of family unity, friendship and warmth and caring. So whenever someone thinks about a festivity, the first beverage they think about, is actually a Coca Cola, regardless if there are other products that might be better.
