This story appears in the
September 2005 issue of
Entrepreneur.
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"Remember how it used to be?" That question can be a
powerful inducement to buying a once-laborious product that has
been transformed into a zippy new wonder-widget. The visual
contrast can be dramatic--think of commercials for kitchen gadgets
and gardening gizmos in which the old is juxtaposed with the
new.
This approach might be termed "negative nostalgia."
But memorabilia can provoke a strong positive response, too.
Bringing back sentimental favorites of another era is a way to make
the good ol' days pay off, especially for nostalgia-loving baby
boomers. Check out the audio aisle at your local electronics
emporium, and you'll likely find a radio housed in the retro
look of a bygone era. The same goes for hardware, furniture and, of
course, fashion. Advertisers are very strategic in how they push
consumers' nostalgia-inducing buttons.
The late copy guru Victor Schwab recommends using this
"subcutaneous advertising" approach--that is, advertising
that gets under consumers' skin with recollections of old--in
his seminal How to Write a Good Advertisement.
Nostalgia is a fitting subject for this month's column, as
it is my last for Entrepreneur after nearly 16 years as its
advertising columnist. It's been truly gratifying for me, and I
hope it's been informative and insightful for you.
Jerry
Fisher is a freelance advertising copywriter and author of
Creating Successful Small Business Advertising.