Nostalgia

It seems we've lost that nostalgic feeling in advertising and the world at large. Bringing our emotions into the mix of promoting brands is what branding is all about. Looking at what commercials have been showing up recently on TV it's more about, "Look We are Better than Others", " It's new", rather than "This can make you a better person, better in more ways than one."

Recently, McDonald's has run ads showing their pervasiveness in our lives through clips from movies and TV shows that mention the brand. As you see the clips you can't help but remember those movie scenes and where you were years ago, (if you were born yet of course) and how it made you feel. Nostalgia. I'm Lovin' It, has become their tagline. And, then I compared that to other Brands, IT-related, and others that seem to miss the mark. Early 1980's my oldest sister worked at Apple in Massachusetts. Now, I have told this story and some people yelled, "Apple was never in Massachusetts!" Sorry, but yes they were in fact, my sister's department was getting laid off because of the move to Cali. I visited in the summer of my 19th year, which entailed driving, taking a ferry, and more driving before I arrived in a town north of Boston, just off the highway. I was excited for the weekend visiting with my college friend whose family was in Wellesley, and for doing all this traveling on my own. When I arrived at my sister's office, everyone was crying and hugging each other. Oh, no, what's wrong I thought.

That's when I first heard of a layoff. I saw the emotions it evoked and how it made people feel. Years later, I would experience layoffs myself. Not fun.

The mug above was one of the first merchandise offerings from Apple. On the back, it shows a letter from a young girl who was doing a crossword puzzle with her mother, and the question was "As American as Apple ...", the girl said she thought it was a computer, but her mom said it was pie." She sent the letter to Mr. Jobs. Innocence, nostalgia. Creativity. The new feeling. It was one of their first commercials and promotional items that Apple used and it evoked nostalgia and awe.

Every year it seems, Apple comes out with a new iPhone. Yes, it's financial, it's business, it's Capitalism. But, new, bigger RAM, pixels, etc. may be most interesting to some, but I need more "I'm loving it", across the board. There's a way to spin your brand, and your product into the lives of many by telling a story. BASF, the chemical company used to have ads that stated, "We don't make the paint, we make it better." Yes, exactly. Maybe, they don't live your lives for you, but the access to their technology, their apps, their user-friendliness, makes our lives better. In the good times, and the bad. I'm lovin' that. Let's see more of that.

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