Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Consumer Behaviour: Understanding Nostalgia

I was browsing Youtube for something and I stumbled upon a famous TV commercial of Bajaj Scooters, 'Humara Bajaj'. I was amazed at the number of hits the ad has received so far. I then decided to prod more and found a lot of old ads which were an integral part of our growing years.

Why do people love these old ads? Traditionally, Indian culture has followed certain set of values and the fast pace of globalisation is creating a discomfort in a lot of people. The old ads are a kind of reassurance that not everything is lost yet. Welcome to the world of nostalgia.

Marketers worldover have used nostalgia both covertly and overtly to position their products. This is especially true in a country like India which, because of its sheer size, population and different pace of growth in different regions, is always in a phase of transition. Take for instance the mushrooming theme based restaurants which use the village setting. These restaurants rekindle memories of the carefree childhood, emotions take over and people almost always spend irrationally.

Marketers have also used nostalgic advertising to suggest longevity of the brand such as Amrutanjan or Pinku Gripe Water.

1 comment:

  1. And old timers love to reminisces about those days, watching those ads... :-)

    ReplyDelete