Nostalgia in Advertising – Nostalgia is, ‘Hey, remember the other mall that used to be there?’ George Saunders

Although advertisers don’t promote the disappearance of malls or shopping centres, they do use Nostalgia in Advertising in their work, to embrace their viewings in the warm feeling of times gone by. As we get older our nostalgic yearnings grow, making viewers more receptive to memories of our past. Even so, every single time we are presented with a past event it tends provokes a previous memory or feeling that reminds us about our pasts and our experiences.

Nostalgia can be felt in many ways through music, childhood toys, movies and even your first ever car. Bringing these feelings towards a viewer is key in reminding viewers how quickly time has past and how these memories can be passed on to others.

Adverts have been throwing back to previous events or even products to remind their viewers that these still exist or even that these products are still effective in todays society. Take the 2013 Fairy liquid advert for example, for many years mums ‘hardly ever buy fairy liquid’ and this still remains their idea today, but their advert replays the same message throughout, using the same actions from year to year, this is effective because it allows the viewer to remember that fairy liquid is always reliable and is trusted through each generation.

Although Nostalgia in Advertisingis used considerably more at christmas, advertisers tend to use the memories of past christmas to emphasis the idea of family and love to promote their spirit of christmas. You only need to watch the symbolic Coca-cola advert with the truck and Holidays are coming soundtrack to signify the beginning of christmas. But its adverts like this that have created the idea of christmas to many families, the advert itself has been used since 1996 and continues to be shown on television every year.

So Why Nostalgia in Advertising?

Reminders and memories:

When people feel nostalgic it due to them being reminded of previous experiences or memories. Advertisers use this to present their products. Take Sony for example with the release of their Playstation 4 console, the company decided to remind customers of their past consoles and how they have changed over the years. The advert itself is effective, as sony takes us through each generation of console as well as the teenagers surroundings and London’s development, it shows how each generation of Playstation gamer is different and constantly changing. For the viewer it presents nostalgia of childhood and how we have grown up alongside the playstation. It doesn’t just remind viewers of the consoles but of the specific games that generations used to play: for example some people may recall playing Theme hospital on Playstation 1, whilst others will think of Simpsons Hit and Run on Playstation 2, then another generation will think of Assassins Creed on Playstation 3 as their frequently played game on the Playstation, but its still effective to the viewer that each generation has a specific connection and the new Playstation will create more.

Mood Improver:

In advertising, no one wants a viewer to go away and forget about the advert straight away. Advertisers want viewers to coming away feeling something as it makes them more rememberable. If you look closely at Internet explorers advert: ‘Child of the 90s’, the adverts simplicity of using all the memories of people born in the 90s, reminding viewers of how simple most technology was, this also enforces the ideas that Internet explorer is still as simple as before. Improving mood in adverts are important as the advert then becomes more memorable and stays with the viewer.

Appeal:

Nostalgia appeals to everyone,whenever a advertisement campaign uses this technique it appeals to a wide audience, looking at the Hovis advert, it uses over a hundred years of history, following the protagonist throughout time, making the product itself more appealing to all ages,

Its unique

Advertisements always try to be unique and different, so incorporating nostalgia into advertising makes the campaign even more unique, as it means a range of different things to people, whilst one advert may mean something to someone, that feeling may well be completely different to another.

So how could nostalgia benefit your advertisement campaigns?

Nostalgia proves to be successful within adverts and television, audiences can’t resist a chance to visit their past and recall the toys/gadgets/memories that used to relate to. It will make your advertisement more rememberable and meaningful in the long run, nostalgia is a simple concept that can be used time and time again as it appeals to all ages, whether nostalgia is created through humour or even brings a tear to the audiences eye, nostalgia continues to push the creativity of its creators, making sure that each advert is unique in its own way.

One important thing to remember is :

Toys, music, cars, movies and memories, Live on Forever.

Everyone has a specific memory in mind of their childhood, these ideas stick with you throughout your life, in fact it influences most of your future. Advertisements that allow people to revisit this, will be likely to be successful.

Nostalgia in Advertising Sources

http://www.faithcreativemedia.com/michigan-advertising-blog/nostalgia-and-the-power-the-past-has-over-the-present
http://www.themediaoctopus.com/advertising/nostalgic-approach-advertising/
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/10/22/nostalgic-playstation-4-ad-plays-brand-history
http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2010/01/the-power-of-nostalgia-in-advertising.html#.Vbn2-euMj8t