Nostalgic Ads Are Comforting in Crisis: “Marketers Going Back to What Worked is a Sure Bet”

The recent trend of brands leaning on nostalgia in their advertising is linked to the cost-of-living crisis, according to senior leaders at creative agencies.

When the world at large is stressed, the familiar is comforting, Paper Moose strategy director Annabelle Rogers told LBB. 

“In the context of high inflation, interest rates, and cost of capital – when the economy is challenging, it’s smart marketing to resurface the past. When in crisis, we go to safety. Marketers going back to what worked is a sure bet.”

She continued to describe the industry’s “fetish” for new ideas but believes that the best strategy lies in making the message easier for the audience to understand. 

“We’ve always reinvented, reinterpreted and remixed - We get newness from the oldness.” 

Take McDonald’s ‘The Original Mouthful’, Mazda’s ‘Zoom, Zoom’, or last year’s ‘Happy Little Vegemite’ remake as examples. Each is a powerful resurfacing of an old idea for a new age. They bring a sense of comfort to those who remember the original, while also adding value to the brand in 2024.  

Abbey Jane, a copywriter from Bastion, believes nostalgia is getting “some heavy-handed smacks” and said calling back to past ideas is a way to pay respect to creatives who have come before. 

“A brand cannot exist without solid foundations. Nods to the past aren’t born from a lack of creativity, but from an appreciation of imaginative pioneering,” she noted. 

Olly Taylor, CSO at Havas Creative Group Australia, believes differently. “It’s easier and cheaper to settle for what's done before and had success,” he said. Olly said that clinging to nostalgia in our personal lives is comforting, however, doing so professionally is wholly unhelpful and “holds us back.” 

Nostalgia isn’t only being used to re-launch campaigns from the past, but is also a feeling portrayed to audiences. John Lewis recently released a campaign celebrating the 100 year legacy of the brand. The TVC sees a shop window explore 100 years’ worth of change. John Lewis has stood the test of time, the spot says.

Innocean’s CSO, Giorgia Butler made the point that during times when traditional institutions like marriage, education, and home ownership are being redefined, nostalgia offers a safe escape. The opportunity for Giorgia lies in what can emerge from looking towards the past. 

“But is playing it safe the only option? Or even a good one? Tapping into the past can be effective, but the real opportunity for brands might lie in exploring the emerging aspirations of today’s audiences,” she said.  

Lee Lowndes, Daylight’s CEO, sees nostalgia as a desire for a simpler time, “when creativity, fun and building big, meaningful brands were priorities.” 

Group ECD at DDB Melbourne’s Psembi Kinstan added, “If there’s one thing that’s eroded clients’ trust in Australian agencies, and therefore hurt the bravery within our industry, it’s the industry’s decade or more of dangerous short-termism. Passing off all ‘nostalgia’ as the enemy dangerously feeds into this.” 

In a world where information is a click away, and uncertainty abounds, nostalgia has become something to cling to. “It’s an emotion understood by everyone,” according to CD Oli Hammerton from Wellcom. 

While there is comfort in nostalgia, especially during times of crisis, the danger lies in how easy it is to wallow. 

As Scott Dettrick, national executive creative director at M&C Saatchi AUNZ, said, “Nostalgia isn’t a strategy or an idea on its own. The world also moves forward at a faster pace than ever, so if a brand leans too heavily on the ‘good old days,’ it risks becoming irrelevant to newer audiences. 

“You can celebrate history, you just don't want to become stuck in it.”