Call it a Comeback: Nostalgia Marketing and the Relaunch of Old Favorites

Feb 15

posted by Dr. John Gironda in Branding | 18 Comments

It seems that lately companies have been engaging in a lot of nostalgia marketing, which involves tapping into consumers’ positive memories from the past. We can see this through the recent reintroductions of a number of previously discontinued products. For example, Crystal Pepsi, a clear cola soft drink, was brought back last summer for a limited promotional 8-week stint, which was successful enough to end up garnering a permanent relaunch. The soda was originally introduced in 1992 and was heavily marketed at the time through Super Bowl commercials and other marketing initiatives: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPvyq_KmXhc.  However, the soda never caught on back then and even became the butt of many jokes, being parodied on Saturday Night Live and elsewhere: www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/crystal-gravy/n10459. Crystal Pepsi was seen as one of the biggest new product failures in PepsiCo’s company history and the soda was discontinued in 1993. Nonetheless, over the years a cult like following developed for the product, especially in many social media forums on Facebook and Twitter, with fans petitioning Pepsi to bring it back. Eventually the company agreed and promoted the soda’s initial relaunch by pairing it with some additional nostalgia, in the form of an online game it dubbed “The Crystal Pepsi Trail”, which was inspired by the iconic old computer game The Oregon Trail.  

Another discontinued soft drink Surge, was brought back by Coca-Cola in late 2014 after a swell of consumer requests on social media. The product’s reintroduction was limited to only being sold on Amazon.com. However, very successful sales there prompted the company to relaunch Surge nationwide in 2015.

In addition to the soft drink industry, this rise in nostalgia can be seen elsewhere such as Kia’s television ad campaign which features the classic 1990’s football video game Techmo Bowl and football great Bo Jackson, who was considered to be the video game’s best and most unstoppable player. In the ad, Bo can be seen driving a Kia Sorento on the football field within the video game itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2aG7oa53Eo. Finally, Nintendo also got into the act, launching its Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition, which is a replica of the original NES, that comes preloaded with 30 classic Nintendo games and uses an HDMI TV connection: www.nintendo.com/nes-classic. Demand for that system was so great, that it prompted the company to also release the Super NES Classic Edition.

It seems that with this rise in nostalgia marketing, companies are realizing that even in an age of ever-changing advanced technologies, consumers still have an affinity for beloved products of the past, and are willing to purchase from firms who appreciate that. Time will indeed tell if this trend continues, and what other old favorites might be making a comeback down the road. In the meantime, what are your thoughts on this new trend? Are there any other previously discontinued products that you’ve noticed being reintroduced? Any others that you would like to see brought back? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

This entry was posted on February 15, 2018 at 8:52 AM and has received 3278 views. There are currently 18 comments. Print this entry. Download attachment.

Comments

(Comment Moderation is enabled. Your comment will not appear until approved.)

• #1 by nicholas curci on 2/16/18 - 1:41 PM

  

  As consumers grow, they retain their fondness for the simplest of things from their youth. Just as baby boomers still love their Rock and Roll, Millennials will continue to love their rap music. This trend continues to be proven true in food culture as well. After Burger Kings discontinued their popular Chicken Fries in 2012, public outrage quickly ensued. This lead to thousands of protests and petitions against the company. In response, Burger King re-introduced the fries in 2014 and was met with public delight. Another example of this is the Twinkie pastry which was due to discontinue in 2012 but quickly revitalized back on shelves the next year after sparking widespread public panic.

• #2 by Collin T. on 2/28/18 - 6:58 PM

  

  Reading this article gave me nostalgia by just seeing the products that were mentioned. Many companies have used nostalgia marketing and it has been used to their benefit. When people see something that had previously given them good times, it is something that people will get excited about. I know that whenever I see products that used to be available come back, it's always exciting to hear about.

• #3 by Veerkaran Banga on 2/28/18 - 7:54 PM

  

  Nostalgia marketing is somewhat common today and in most cases, it seems to arise from a high consumer demand for the product. For example, the popular tv show: Rick and Morty briefly promoted Mcdonald's szechuan sauce (which was discontinued in the late 90s) and sparked a nationwide fiasco that prompted Mcdonald's to bring back its szechuan sauce. Moreover, I believe nostalgia marketing may depend on consumers over-romanticizing a product from their past; although the product appeals to a cult following, it likely wasn't successful the first time around and may not be successful today.

• #4 by Izabella Bass Klicsu on 2/28/18 - 8:28 PM

  

  This article was very interesting and informative! I think companies should partake in this new trend because the results that Pepisco, Ninetendo, and Coca-Cola have gotten are impressive. Most consumers get excited when companies bring back old products that are discontinued. For example, Jimmy Fallon recreated the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air opening, Saved By the Bell, and reunited the Good Burger crew. Jimmy Fallon uses nostalgia marketing by being authentic and recreating hits that the public used to love. Jimmy Fallon received amazing feedback from the public that they wanted to see more recreation videos. A product that was reintroduced was the Gazelles by Adidas. I personally love that Adidas brought back these shoes.

• #5 by Kathleen Taylor on 3/1/18 - 10:18 AM

  

  This trend is proving to be successful for many companies. For example, Tamagotchi recently returned to online retailers after its massive popularity in the 90's and has caught the attention of many who retain positive memories of caring for their virtual pets. The return of these products is similar to the return of fashion trends from the past. However, just like in fashion, these trends will not last long and sales will fall. It is important for companies to be aware of this fact in order to take advantage of nostalgia marketing, but remove the product from the market when it is no longer profitable.

• #6 by David on 3/1/18 - 10:28 AM

  

  This article is very true and helped me to realize how this phenomenon is occurring. With the new "cool" being hipster, having these nostalgic commercials is probably helping these companies immensely since consumers want to be like the commercials, original and vintage. Lets see if this matches the trend next year, or if the social standards will have changed.

• #7 by Alissa Pullom on 3/1/18 - 10:58 AM

  

  I agree with you, the reason why nostalgia marketing is popular now is that it brings back those positive, warm and fond memories for a lot of people of when they were younger. I enjoy nostalgia brands items myself. It brings back memories of happy times. This is why nostalgia brand marketing is such a smart move. McDonald now brings back the McRib each year around November for a limited time. The McRib was a discontinued item but now is it is considered one of those nostalgia items that everyone gets excited about each year. My brothers rush to McDonald for a McRib sandwich every year because it remind them of when they were kids. Very good blog.

• #8 by isaac azout on 3/1/18 - 6:18 PM

  

  I agree with almost everything about this article. Nostalgia bring back so many memories and helps me remember such incredible things. This is why I believe nostalgia brand marketing is such a smart move in this regard. One example is the Miami Marlins bringing back teal uniforms for a weekend series. Although those are no longer our colors, they use throwback jerseys because who wouldnt like that.

• #9 by Jenna Beavon on 3/2/18 - 11:36 AM

  

  I really like nostalgic things in general so I love seeing the commercials that throw back to some fun memories. I love antique shops, old movies, barrel candy stores, and things of that nature. I did notice a publix commercial that used the old corduroy teddy bears as the grandparents. I really resonated with that commercial, and I imagine it was popular. I know Coca-Cola also uses the classic Santa look every Christmas. I think these things help consumers attach a memory to the product and boosts sales.

• #10 by Mrunal Shah on 3/2/18 - 12:46 PM

  

  As people grow older, they often think about the classic items and activities that defined their childhood. These things are usually a little modified to attract the newer generation as well. However, those products usually never fail to excite its consumers. For example, the Polaroid onestep camera is a device that every teenager and young adult has. With its improved and modernized features, this device has been able to attract thousands of consumers even though there are newer cameras where you can take more pictures on as well as print them out at a local store or online. Since this onestep camera brings back old memories, it has been a success in the marketplace.

• #11 by Darshan R on 3/2/18 - 4:04 PM

  

  Nostalgia marketing works well for products that didn't really sell well in the past and it is a way for companies to make a quick profit. People are buying the product because of the memories and not the features that it offers. Many popular old movies are being remade using modern technology but the plot is essentially the same. This type of marketing is best used for products that were popular or well known.

• #12 by Matthew Lee on 3/2/18 - 4:17 PM

  

  While the trend of nostalgia marketing grows and people continue to remember old things fondly, I believe that the market should focus on making new products based on the future and not think about the past. I noticed that many retro-style video games are being introduced into the market. For example, the video game Cuphead did extremely well as well as other reboots of Mario and iconic video game characters. I think that adaptations of older television shows as games would be interesting to experience.

• #13 by Ricky Banga on 3/2/18 - 5:08 PM

  

  Bringing back old products is a very good business tactic because of the hype and desire surrounding the product. This is best exemplified when Hostess withdrew twinkies from the market and brought them back due to public outrage. When a loved product is removed from the market, the populace is usually concerned and there is increased attention paid to the product of interest. Moreover, this can be a very useful business strategy to increase profits as the re-entry of the product into the market will spark a profit boom.

• #14 by Niyati Patel on 3/2/18 - 6:01 PM

  

  This article makes a very interesting point because it seems like now a days the new "it" items or the new trends are just old trends that are making reappearances. Today's generation is intrigued by many of the same things that our grandparents or even great grandparents were. This shows that even though something goes "out of style" it doesn't really go out of style forever, but just for a period of time. I think with all of the changes that are happening all around the world so rapidly there are somethings that just don't change.

• #15 by Alin Benny on 3/3/18 - 1:56 PM

  

  Nostalgia marketing is definitely a very effective marketing strategy, individuals are often swayed very easily to buy a product that brings back good memories from the past. I noticed recently that the popular boy band from the 2000s, The Backstreet Boys, have recently made a comeback. They are performing live in Vegas for a couple months. They have made a huge comeback due to fan request and they have made huge profits from this within a couple months. Their music from back in the day is being received even more now and I would say this is a prime example of nostalgia marketing.

• #16 by Claromanoora Emile on 3/4/18 - 6:18 PM

  

  In a laconic statement, halcyon or euphoric memories associated with products are often enjoyable. There are more emotions or memories associated with products. Some products aren't considered good nostalgias. I personally don't like burger king, and the fries they reintroduced weren't good in my opinion. Seems there is a psychological component with nostalgias, if companies aren’t careful with knowing their customers, they could reintroduce a product people aren’t interested in. Personally, I experience nostalgia when I watch shows from my childhood. For example, “All that”,” Johnny Bravo”, and “the power puff girls”. As far as products, I used to eat these caramel candies called “sugar daddy” and “sugar mama”. They were caramel candies, and if they were sold again in stores I would buy them at any price! “sugar babies” weren’t so good in my opinion though.

• #17 by Jay Patel on 3/4/18 - 9:17 PM

  

  I think that playing on the nostalgia in marketing can have a serious impact on the purchasing behavior of consumers. Whether it be reminiscing about a good moment that happened when a certain product was released or just satisfaction with using a past product, consumers do indeed buy these products. I remember watching youtube videos about the want to bring Pepsi crystal back. I somewhat was able to see the process of how Pepsi was able to integrate it back. This tells a lot about how companies do listen to the feedback of their customers. In the past, I remember that Doritos would make the fan-base(consumers) pick which flavor should stay in existence for a longer about of time. Overall, the ability to satisfy a consumer's want can have a large role in the success of the company.

• #18 by Abigail George on 3/4/18 - 10:41 PM

  

  When reviewing and reading this article, I never realized that many companies are indeed bringing back the old to not only bring back nostalgic feelings for their customers but also to bring about something new to the newer generations. I recently found out that a toy that I used to play with, along with my past relatives, Polly Pocket is making a comeback as well! This new trend of bringing back old nostalgic products from world-renowned firms is something that I believe is nothing new to the world. I feel as if many firms do this form of marketing not only to reel in the older generation but also to create a new buzz around their firm. As well as also listening to their customers on whether or not they would like to see old products be brought back into the light of their company.