Alright, nostalgia is cool.
Or is it?
I mean, it is, but when used right.
And unfortunately, we live in a society where it is not used right. In almost 90% of cases.
But before we dive into critiquing the shit out of nostalgia marketing, let us talk a little bit about it.
When to do nostalgia marketing?
The short answer is: On holidays (major or small-ish)
Holidays are always an excuse to do something, so might as well spin up some good nostalgia.
The long answer is:
Do it anytime you want. (DO NOT OVERDO IT)
Why?
People need a simple reason to do anything.
As Alex Hornozi said, it's like a fraternity. Mike pulled his tooth, let’s party.
Wednesday? Make it a Throwback Wednesday.
How do you do it?
This one is a straightforward answer.
Do not change it too much.
If you have an original campaign that you know is nostalgic, if you change it too much, you've screwed yourself.
However, small changes can evoke nostalgia without ruining the original memory.
Why do it?
Well, that's also a really simple answer.
Reason one: It is a good mechanism to nurture or get back old customers who are no longer in the mix.
Reason two: It can create a ripple effect.
A young person can see that campaign, and ask their dad wtf that is, and in return get some much appreciated dad lore, that ends up turning both dad and the person into customers.
A win-win.
The Critique
And now on to the elephant in the room.
Why I think it does not work as it used to.
It became too repetitive.
Nostalgia marketing has started to kill some very good IPs in almost every industry there is.
We talk about movies, games, shows, ads, you name it.
People rely too much on the past and stop being creative.
I mean, take a look at movies, for example:
- The Incredibles 2 and 3
- Gladiator 2
Or games:
- Call of Duty
- Assassin's Creed
Do not get me wrong, these may be amazing movies, but for me, it kind of signals:
Oh, we lost the creativity, let us jump on the bandwagon of good old stuff.
Lack of effort.
It's ruining the good old vibes and core memories
What do I mean by this?
This one is the opposite of the “How to do it?” part.
Brands know their nostalgic campaigns are good. But, they fail when they try to recreate them.
This kills the vibe and the memory of the original.
But, if it's identical, someone might feel, "I don't feel unique anymore. I shared this with a small group."
It is a double-edged sword.
Luckily, the 1st thing is more of a case than the 2nd, but still, it's not a good place to be at as a brand.
The target group is usually wrong
As I mentioned in “Why Do It," nostalgia can be used to get back old customers.
But a bad side to that is that brands usually ONLY target old customers.
Why?
I mean, think about it, a little kid born in 2010 is not gonna be excited about campaigns from the 90s. It’s not relatable to them.
But Fortnite bringing back the original version of Fortnite works.
So this will probably get them some new customers.
A good example of nostalgia marketing done right
One of my favorite examples of nostalgia marketing is an ad in which Mike Tyson gives Evander Holyfield his ear back.
Classic.
It's funny, and it's super nostalgic. Even for me who is waaay younger than the time Mike and Evander used to fight.
Also, it looks like it sits with all the other folks too, since the comments are overwhelmingly positive.
Conclusion
So what is the final take here?
I think that nostalgia marketing is amazing, but very hard to execute these days, and I see little to no examples of brands using it today.
There is too much uncreative milking of it, but if someone turns it around, they will find a pot of gold.
A great example of a company that is going in the right direction is Adidas with its Anthony Edwards commercials.
You can read more about that in this issue of The Unfiltrd Writer.
The Ad of the Week
Alright, now onto the ad that impressed me the most this week.
The winner issss: Lexus!
So Lexus made an ad in collaboration with Amazon that advertised its new GX model.
But it was not a regular ad. It was a music video. With an artist named Anderson .Paak.
They called it Destination .Paak. Cool name. Wordplay.
On top of that, they released it on World Music Day.
It’s a good advertisement because it does more than just show a car. It shows a whole vibe and connects with people on an emotional level with music.
Also, they created custom landing pages and even a music playlist to further drive views.
The end result: 164 million views.
Nice one, Lexus and Amazon.
Kudos.
The Real Conclusion
Another banger in the bag!
Awesome sauce!
That would be it for today, folks. Hope y’all liked it.
As always, I appreciate your replies and feedback about these issues so I can make them better and more valuable for everyone.
Until the next issue,
Peace out,
The Unfiltrd Writer
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