Let me start by saying that I don’t like chocolate bars. I don’t eat them, and if I did, it wouldn’t be a Snickers. But all that aside, I need to applaud the brand for their use of nostalgia in advertising. Their recent Superbowl ad really won me over. I smile every time it’s on TV: I can’t think of the last time I didn’t “skip” through a commercial and instead stopped to enjoy it.
First, have a look at the “teaser” Snickers put out pre-Superbowl:
You already know this is going to be good. Like really, really, goooood. So we have an all America classic, The Brady Bunch, paired with Danny Trejo (Sons of Anarchy, Desperado, From Dusk Till Dawn), what more could we ask for?
How about a little Steve Buscemi (Fargo, Boardwalk Empire, Reservoir Dogs) as the cherry on top? See the full commercial:
Surely the success of this commercial can’t just be attributed to the Danny, Steve, & Brady trifecta? No, it’s the special ingredient of nostalgia.
Nostalgia has been described as a bittersweet emotion, in which the past is viewed with both sadness and longing. References to ‘the good old days’ are increasingly common as advertisers call up memories of distant youth – feelings they hope will translate to what they’re selling today.
Solomon et al. remind us of just how powerful nostalgia is in the 6th Canadian ed. of Consumer Behaviour. If you are anywhere near my vintage, then the Brady Bunch conjures up all sorts of emotions leaving me longing for the past.
A stimulus can sometimes evoke a weakened response much later, an effect known as spontaneous recovery. This reestablished connection may explain consumers’ powerful nostalgic reactions to songs, pictures, or brands they have not been exposed to in many years.
It all makes perfect sense now. The longing, the weakening, and the reconnection. It’s powerful, successful, and mastered by Snickers.
Kwantlen Polytechnic University 