Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Nostalgia: The "Better" Times


            Living the fond memories of our childhood brings back possibly the most happiest and carefree times of our lives. The power of nostalgia is incredible in the sense that the past has a way of seeming better than the present and possibly the future. Thinking back to nostalgic times transports all of our emotions into a streak of positivity and hope that the present and future can be as great as the happier times of our lives. Main advantage of nostalgic marketing is the strong way it can easily transport the viewer to a personal memory so that they can connect with the product and ad. Another advantage is nostalgic marketing can reach out to a broad range of people. Nostalgic marketing can also make their product seem even greater and improved then their past if their product in the memories of their viewers was already successful. A company that I feel uses nostalgic marketing to their advantage is the Disney Company.

The video below advertises Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary and it starts off with nostalgia by having Walt Disney speaking on the opening of Disneyland. Along with this is also video shots of little kids, families, and older people of all ages enjoying their time at Disneyland. By reaching into the memory of the viewers that Disneyland has been a source of entertainment and happiness since the beginning, the viewers will think back their first time at Disneyland and use these nostalgic memories to possibly go to the huge celebration.

       Disadvantages of nostalgic marketing would have to be if the product was not successful in the past, then the viewers would reflect on this horrible experience or possibly not remember it all (since their memory may have blocked this out of the brain). By tying this link between the past memory and the current ad, the company could be at a complete disadvantage and may not be even given a chance since the viewer would not trust the product. If the product was no memorable then the ad may appear irrelevant and confusing if it tries to reference to the past and bring make nostalgia that is non-existent. Personally, the only product commercial I have seen that provides negative results of nostalgia is the My Little Pony commercials. As a young child I found these commercials annoying and I desired to have this toy. Therefore, whenever this commercial below comes on, I click to the next channel without even giving it another chance. 


No comments:

Post a Comment