Ruining Nostalgia: a marketing strategy that went from generate comfort to being annoying

It's Christmas week and there's no other best time to talk about… Nostalgia. Yeah, this marketing tool throughout the past decade brands made frequent attempts to court Millennials and Gen Zers during uncertain times. 

We know, it's not been easy for the younger generations for a while now. This has been a difficult year for all, but it has been especially harsh for young people who have suffered job losses and will endure the effects of a second ?once in a lifetime? economic crisis, while still in their early careers. 

Reddit graphic highlighting moments that impacted each group's childhood

Emotionally exhausted from isolation, constant connectivity and the political circus playing out across their screens, recent adults are eagering for simpler times and for moments in the past that once sparked joy, right? It depends.

Ok. There's the ones who are longing for serendipity and mundane moments common in a pre-pandemic world, and for a time when possibilities actually felt reachable.

However, as the need for transparency rises so does the skepticism. Once Nostalgia represents that comfortable place that we can come back and enjoy what's known. That was replaced by something that I've like to call "the fear of remake / sequel". Isn't something new, for sure. But as Nostalgia Marketing uses all its resources to the maximum, the sense of "ruining masterpieces" starts to appear. 

From Top Gun to Space Jam, passing through The Matrix 4 and Sister Act 3, all blockbusters and franchises are having comebacks that shivers down our spines rather than making us feel excited. Possibly destroying something that works good in the memory lane can be a shot in the foot for big movie studios and also brands who rely on the same strategy to gather old and new audiences. 

Huge culture influencers from Brazil like Jovem Nerd already made a 21 minute Youtube video saying how Back to The Future is perfect as it is and begged not for them to have a remake. But also mentioned with relief that its creators, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale don't consider working on a new movie while they're alive.    

Even with the pandemic altering everyone's mental health and increasing sentimentally longing for during times of collective trauma, turning to childhood relics for emotional support showed up to be a one trick pony that works out to it's exhaustion. 

And here's the challenge for 2021: for brand strategists and marketeers to seek new ways to provide safety and personal growth for people that don't depend on past experiences or empty self-care words. Myself included.