Nostalgia in Marketing

Overview

“Definition

Nostalgia refers to a longing for the past, a yearning for yesterday, or a fondness for possessions and activities associated with days of yore(Holbrook, 1993 )

A preference (general liking, positive attitude) toward objects (people, places, things) that were more common (popular, fashionable) when one was younger (in early adulthood, in adolescence, in childhood)(Holbrook, 1991)

“

Why Nostalgia in Advertising?

• Particularly true in time of economic uncertainty.

• When we think of the past, we always remember the good moments.

• In every societies there are always groups of the population who support nostalgia.

• Marketers tend to use the same images and ideas because it is less costly and risky than invent new ones (cash cows).

Nostalgia – Products and Services

Nostalgia – Products

Cars BMW (MINI) and VW (Bug/Beetle)

Nostalgia – Products

Music (One night in Bangkok - Murray Head 1985 - Vinylshakerz 2004 )

Games (Super Mario Brothers, Grand Theft)

Nostalgia – Products

Movies/Comics (Transformers, Batman ,Spider Man, Captain America)

Nostalgia – Products

Sports (Jerseys)

Nostalgia – Products

Nike Vintages Adidas Originals

Nostalgia – Products

Converse Batman Collection

Nostalgia – Services

Horse Carriage Local food support

Nostalgia from a scientific perspective

Thinking of past turns out to be always positive.

• Muehling and Sprott • Kodak Nostalgia Test

• Increased emotional engagement

• The ad itself to be viewed more favourably

• Increased brand retention and perception

• Also increased Negative thoughts

• Nostalgic emotions are “borrowed” in advertisements, not “transferred”

Research on Nostalgia

Research suggests that Nostalgia causes

Advantages

• Remembering the past evokes positive feelings.

• Makes people feel younger.

• Taking advantage of existing brand equity.

• Familiarity.

• Cost-effectiveness.

• Doesn’t have to be product-specific. Image should evoke positive and warm feelings, even though it doesn`t have anything in common with the product

Disadvantages

• There is some risk of recalling negative associations

• Advertisements encouraging the retrieval of autobiographical memories may make product-related thoughts less accessible.

• Certain nostalgic advertisements may alienate different target groups

References

• Holbrook, M 1993, ‘Nostalgia and Consumption Preferences: Some Emerging Patterns of Consumer

Tastes‘, Journal of Consumer Research, vol.20, no.2.

• Holbrook, M Schindler, R 1991, ‘Echoes of the Dear Departed Past: Some Work in Progress on

Nostalgia ‘, Advances in Consumer Research, vol.18

• Havlena, W. & Holak, S. (1991) The Good Old days": Observations On Nostalgia and Its Role In

Consumer Behavior. Advances in consumer research. 18(1) 323-329

• Muehling, D. & Sprott D. (2004) The Power of Reflection: An Empirical Examination of Nostalgia

Advertising. Journal of Advertising. 33( 3) 25-35

• Nettleton, K Lovell, C 2008, ‘ Why are nostalgia brands returning ‘, Campagin (UK), 5/30/2008,

Issue 21, p. 10.

Thank you for your attention!

Group Presentation: IMC Latrobe University, Semester 2, 2011

Emmaly Ioannidis

Caroline Fourtier

Torsten Tellkamp

David Sandoval

Ken Thorsteinsson

Ben Thompson

Date: 19th August 2010