When Brands Go Retro

Nostalgia is Always There

“Nostalgia is what we call a mixed emotion: There’s a longing for the past and some positive wistfulness as we think back on a prior time when things were perceivably better or simpler, but there’s also a tinge of sadness because, in our minds, that time doesn’t exist anymore. Nostalgia in our culture can be triggered when consumers are under stress or there’s a negative externality that they are experiencing, such as during COVID or an uncertain economy. People have that mixed emotion, then you begin to see that reflected in advertising, branding and communications. You might see it, for example, in brands going back to their old retro styles. I think to a certain extent, nostalgia is always there.”

The Social Media Factor

“I think there’s a feeling now particularly with social media about how everything was better before social media. There’s an undercurrent of nostalgia for a time when we didn’t know everything about everyone.”

Nostalgia Sells: Where — and When — to Look

• Television: “Shows like Stranger Things are so compelling because that series captured the essence and freedom of being a kid in the ’80s. Or take Mad Men. One of the clips I like to show my students is when Don is pitching the Kodak carousel, invoking the time when we would go on family vacations and come back with slides to put in your projector and all sit around and watch together. He is also pitching it as nostalgia.”
• Footwear: “A lot of brands are going back to their old retro styles — particularly in footwear — so you see that coming back.”
• Holidays: “You see nostalgia showing up in branding during holidays in particular because it is a time hopefully of family reconnecting and gathering.”