Unfortunately, hindsight isn’t 20/20. We’re all looking back through the lens that is colored (not by roses) but by the unreliability of our memories and the haze of feelings over facts.
Sure, Hilary Duff is everywhere (honestly, good for her), but this isn’t new. Zima came back (temporarily) and so did Dunkaroos (they stuck around. Their website is phenomenal, and you can buy them by the case on Amazon).
Nostalgia bias is a very real (and well studied) psychological effect, where we tend to remember past events more fondly. When you look back at you camp experience as a kid, you remember the adventures and friends not the bugs and sunburn.
And on top of that, we’ve all unconsciously Pavlov’d ourselves into being attracted to certain things.
Allow me to explain.
First, a definition of “Pavlov’d,” since it’s not an official psychological term (although, you may be able to guess it). Pavlov was a physiologist credited for discovering classical conditioning when he trained dogs to drool when they heard a bell ring. So when I say “Pavloved” what I mean is that we’ve associated one thing so strongly with another that when we see one thing, we immediately want the other.
Nostalgia sells because the minute you experience something from a time earlier in your life, you look back at fondly. And good feelings help solidify perceived value.
A Shirley Temple (the drink, not the actress) brings back carefree summer pool days. It’s a huge part of why Dirty Shirley cocktails took off and subsequently acquired by Sazerac.
A few weeks ago, Costco released an Esprit sweatshirt, and it went viral. Not because of features (or even style, no offense), but because GenX felt something.
From an article on today.com:
“My childhood was unlocked. Look what I found,” TikTok user @heyitsmemamie said in a video on TikTok showing off her new Esprit sweatshirts, one in cream with pastel lettering, one green and one purple. “If you grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, you know that Esprit wasn’t just a brand, it was the brand.”
Brands don’t have to revive trademarks or collaborate with Jansport on a backpack to take advantage of nostalgia. They just have to call back to it.
While feelings aren’t universal, most of our childhoods (at least in the US) had collective moments. And that will only become more true as millennials who had an internet presence earlier in their lives continue to be a dominant consumer set and Gen Z starts to pull more weight.
It can be a seasonal campaign or SKU around an old fashioned 4th of July (ask my friend how many times I quoted Jennifer Coolidge as Paulette in Legally Blonde 2: “You look like the 4th of July. Makes me want a hotdog real bad.”) Or leveraging the emotion of unboxing that feels “like a kid on Christmas” in your messaging.
When you connect your brand to a nostalgic moment or visual, Pavlov comes in to play.
Put that sort of syrupy grenadine flavor into a drink and you’ll transport a set of consumers back to drinking a Shirley Temple with their legs swinging on the side of a pool chair. Sold.
Put a specific logo on a sweatshirt and another set is back in their rooms with friends, getting dressed to go to the mall, giggling about how Jennifer is hoping Michael will be there. Sold out.
Put your product on a 90’s backdrop and inspire feelings of “a simpler time,” or play up back to school, even if you’re for adults. Put your products in content connected to the collective feeling of an afternoon free to play Madden with friends.
Remind people of the good old days, then show them they’re not that far away.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.