Nostalgia ads tend to travel in packs – you don’t have any for years at a time, and then, like the Andrex puppy might, a big group jump into your lap and lick your face.
Re-inventions of that fuzzy warm feeling come courtesy of Kelloggs, Milky Bar, Soda Stream, Fairy Liquid and most recently, Tetley Tea who are hoping to revive their fortunes. They’ve all resurrected their original messages as well as branding.
The reason for advertising anything is to make a product memorable, so memorable in fact that you’ll change your behaviour and buy that product when you next see it in the shops.
Perhaps the reason for this influx of nostalgic ads is what research has identified as “a longing for positive memories from the past.” Apparently a desire for nostalgia is something that intensifies in days of uncertainty and worry – a bit like now really.
In days of yore, adverts were made to entertain as well as cajole. The memorable strapline was all part of the entertainment – and we bet you can guess these product from just a few words:
Here at Wordsworks Towers we’ll take the Smash alien over the fat opera singer any day.