8 - Innovation and Nostalgia
Nostalgia is another common element in advertising, in which brands look back to the past as a way of associating themselves to a better, vanished time. In the present day, nostalgia is a major component of popular culture -revivals, remakes, re-issues, reenactments, and other methods of dredging up the past abound.
In the commercial realm, this is evident in the products that revive their old packaging, product formulation, and even advertisements - and even those firms that do not make direct use often play to sentiments of nostalgia. This is particularly true of older brands, which often celebrate significant birthdays (generally 25, 50, 75, 100, and more) by a promotional campaign that revives their past.
It's clear that "retro" is in fashion - but does it have the value advertisers think?
Nostalgia in uncertain times
It's suggested that the current wave of nostalgia is a reflection of the "uncertainty and crisis" of modern times and a sense of security and stability in the "good old days" of the past when everything seemed more comfortable - at least in arrears. Historians compare this to the turn of the twentieth century, when a similar phenomenon occurred - there was a mixed sense of people who wanted to cling to the past, along with others who wanted to "wipe the slate clean" and progress into the future.
However, nostalgia had figured into advertising well before the present outbreak of "yestermania," in that consumers often respond well to products that reminded them of their youth, and the sense that any company or brand that is old has earned its longevity through providing a product that has stood the test of time.
Marketers have sought to tap into that desire and the associated positive emotions. Those firms that have been long-standing tout their past, and even newer firms will create a fake history for themselves or leverage stylistic elements that imply a connection to the distant past.
The author pauses to concede this is not universal, as marketing plays on both ends of the spectrum as well, and may choose to pander to those who feel that "old" means "old fashions" and that the past is better left behind. (EN: This is largely dependent on product, with high-technology products being more likely to play on the future than reach back to the past.)
The author suggests that nostalgia is a mood rather than an emotion. An emotion is a more intense and short-lived state, whereas a mood is less intense and more long term. Another key difference is that we generally know, or seek to identify, the cause of an emotion whereas a mood "just is" and does not need to be justified or analyzed.
(EN: Psychologists define a shorter sensation as an "impulse" and a longer sensation as a "trait." Given that nostalgia has been in fashion for more than two decades, it might be better described as a trait rather than a mood - though it is likewise worthwhile to consider that for some individuals it may be an impulse or emotion.)
The author cites another flawed study in which respondents were placed in a room with "sad" background music and asked to describe their mood and to evaluate the extent to which they feel their mood will impact their purchase intentions. (EN: This bothers me, not only because of the confabulation in self-reporting, but also because it violates the very notion of mood - because it is short lived and in response to a specific stimulus [music] it is by definition an emotion. I see this as junk science and will not preserve any further notes.)
False Nostalgia and Retro Fashion
Genuine nostalgia involves evoking the sentiments a person has about their actual experience - and as such it is not possible for a person who was not born until 1980 to be nostalgic for the 1960s. However, there is some evidence that false nostalgia - having wistful feelings without actual experience - can also be effective.
(EN: I would posit that this is not emotional but cognitive in origin. Consider that a person may have an impression of a place they have never visited that causes them to feel a certain way - they must first develop a concept of what they imagine that place to be like, then associate feelings to that imagined concept. There may be some similarity, but I expect that the difference is significant enough that the two feelings should not be considered analogous.)
The term "retro" is used for products that adopt stylistic elements of previous decades. Retro brands are not necessarily perfect revivals of the past, but merely adopt certain stylistic elements of the past into a product that is otherwise modern. The degree of fidelity to the past generally depends on whether the quality in question is supportive or obstructive to the perceived quality of the product (e.g., a can of soda may have a 1960s-style label but retain the current packaging conventions, as no-one is keen on reviving tin cans with removable pop-tops).
Some consideration is given to the object to which "retro" applies - it may apply to the product, the company, or the consumer, or it may be meant in a vague sense of a sense or feeling of belonging to a previous time.
However, it is noted that nostalgia alone is not sufficient to make a product appealing to customers (except for fashion items): the product must deliver value and the features that customers desire. Consider the "retro" styles in the automotive industry as an example - nobody really wants to drive a vehicle built with the technology of fifty or more years ago, but they do like the visual touches.
Thoughts for the future
The author concedes that while "retro" is presently in fashion, there is little research into the notion, and particularly no research as to its longevity.
He also suggests that "retro" is popular when people are dissatisfied with the present - so it remains to be seen whether, when the world emerges from the economic crisis, the desire to escape to a past era will still remain desirable, or if the culture will be less interested in the past than in a good present and a hopeful future.