Photo courtesy of PepsiCo
Life Cereal just brought back Mikey. Don’t know who he is? Neither did I, but I quickly learned he was quite a successful marketing strategy for the PepsiCo company-owned brand in the 1970’s. Now, you might be thinking, “Cool, dude, but do you really think a little kid with a red sweater eating cereal will get me to buy one of the staple ingredients in a DIY Chex-Mix?” Not my place to say, but if you think this is a desperate attempt by their marketing department to stay relevant, you’re wrong.
Life is just the latest CPG brand to bring back one of its iconic marketing tactics. Cadbury repackaged to a more retro look, Hi-Chew embraced the ‘70’s with an old-school dessert parlor (anyone got the itch to watch Grease?), and Maybelline went back to its famous tagline from the early 1990’s. You know the one.
So, why, in an age where everything feels like we’re moving into the future at lightning speed, are brands moving backwards?
Nostalgia Marketing
Nope, we didn’t make this up. Nostalgia marketing is a powerful strategy that taps into our positive emotions of the past. When I chomp on Big League Chew, I smile at my Little League days. If someone mentions Heelys, I laugh at the mark left on my middle school’s hallway floor. And if I see an old Yu-Gi-Oh! card, I remember how much I sucked at the game. But I love it. All of it.
Nostalgia marketing works because it taps into our deepest emotions, those emotional feelings of belonging and comfort. The brands we trust and have grown up with for so long are revitalizing our youthfulness as we age. And in a crowded marketplace, brands that have been around forever hold a unique advantage over brand new start-ups.
Implementing Nostalgia in Marketing
If you’re a brand lucky enough to have survived throughout the decades, think about what you would want to see. You don’t have to be a major business to embrace nostalgia marketing. Maybe you’re a local company whose target audience is local people. Tap into what they used to see as kids, those jingles and soundtracks forever burned in their memories. For me, it’s a local carpet company, who will remain nameless.
Whether it’s retro designs, using iconic spokespeople, or telling your brand’s history, you’re getting the chance to reinvigorate your audience. People respond best to those brands they feel most connected and attached to.
So, will Progressive’s Flo be the new Mikey in 2075? I’ll tell you when I’m 83.
