Millennials: the Cultural Recycling Boom
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Consumer Insight Consumer Millennials: The Cultural Recycling Boom We explore the innovative brand- building strategies that companies are using to align themselves with WMagazine consumers' fondest memories. Analysis Millennial nostalgia is alive and well in 2017. From the public outcry in July that halted the planned discontinuation of Microsoft Paint to Drake sampling J.Lo's 1999 hit "If You Had My Love" for "Teenage Fever", nostalgia for the 90s and 00s is cropping up more frequently than ever – and taking new forms. Nostalgia has always been a popular marketing tool in times of uncertainty and anxiety. In 2015, we noted sentimental reboots and gaming re-releases. But with evermore advanced technology and growing consumer expectations, brands are extending the experience of nostalgia – going beyond "ephemeral commercial goods and fleeting media moments in our age of fast capitalism," according to Gary Cross, author of Consumed Nostalgia. In a time of accelerated social change, limited attention spans and financial strain for Millennials, we explore how brands are aligning themselves with consumers' fondest memories, and making nostalgia relevant, functional and omnipresent. Dennis Engel, Nicholas Kugge, Saatchi & Saatchi Feeling is believing For experience-seeking Millennials, it's At London's Lovebox festival in July 2017, about living in the present with the past – the popular 90s cheese snack Babybel making new moments from memories. made an unexpected appearance. Upon entry, staff handed out the individually- Nostalgia-infused experiences are popping wrapped snacks to the mostly Millennial up to cater to demand, including the audience. Tapping into the consumption on- Welcome to Nicole Richie's Memorial Day the-go, snack-orientated mindset left BBQ in New York, running from July to Babybel with a lifted brand impression. September 2017. The exhibition is solely dedicated to the early 2000s, exhibiting art Continuing the collaboration route, Babybel installations by Laura Collins, Pop Aesthete, also partnered with charity Comic Relief, Brittany Boynton and more. "raising more than a smile" for UK and African poverty and injustice via sales of Their e-vite outlined what else to expect: their exclusive "cheesy jokes" packaging. "We all remember the leak of Nicole Richie’s e-mail invitation to the BBQ, but what we As part of a longer strategy, in June 2017 don’t know is who was cc’d. The exhibit Nintendo opened an area in Japan's Kansai asks you to do one thing: imagine if International Airport allowing travellers to everyone was. Tyra Banks, Britney Spears, play games for free while waiting for Mischa Barton, Lindsay Lohan, Janet flights. The gaming giant is also working Jackson, NOT JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, Paris with Universal Studios in Osaka and Hilton’s Valtrex prescription bottle." Orlando, Florida, to build dedicated theme park zones. The time is now for living out The exhibition was the joint work of nostalgia beyond private consumption. Instagram artist @popculturediedin2009 and the Brooklyn comedians who previously created a museum devoted to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in April 2016. @jpkazamel Shape-shifters In May 2017, a revamped version of the security. It also has an "old school" keypad Nokia 3310 – first released in 2000 – made making it versatile for any user. its way back onto the market. It boasts a Gudak, released in July 2017, is an app colour screen, the beloved game Snake, a which turns an iPhone into a disposable 30-day battery life, 2G connectivity and camera. It mimics the limited functionality 2MP camera, with no Wi-Fi or GPS of an old Kodak throwaway, with a three- capabilities. With consumers wanting to day image processing time, 24-photo limit shut off and take control of their digital per day and a miniature preview window. consumption, the phone sold out immediately in India, the UK, Vietnam and Iconic 90s fashion publications are moving Finland, according to Nokia's parent further from exclusive, to personalised and The Daily Dot company, HMD Global. accessible. In February 2017, Vogue released a chatbot that allows Facebook Despite some views that it was solely users to select what content they want to nostalgic hype, the lightweight design, receive and when. In August 2017, the tactile keys, simplified user experience, newly-appointed first black, gay, male large battery life and value for money have editor, Edward Enninful, has further given it useful second-phone status. A 3G restyled the brand, debuting Vogue on model is rumoured for late September 2017. Snapchat Discover to reach new audiences. Samsung turned nostalgia on its In 2016, ELLE rolled out their "print on head with its beloved 90s flip phone demand" distribution approach, allowing design, appropriated for 2017 usage. "luxury Millennial" consumers to pre-order a Released in August 2017, Leader 8 has a cover of their choice. Editor-in-chief, double HD screen, two touchscreens, Lorraine Candy said they "needed to move wireless charging, a front and rear camera, the product on to talk to her more directly". and fingerprint entry for enhanced Vogue Recycling the past Mixing different realities and refreshing With binge streaming Millennials, it is no themes are other ways brands are reviving surprise that Netflix's Mad Men reached content. peak viewership of 3.3m, according to 2015 Nielsen data. Heinz, with ad agency David In April 2016, JWT re-scripted the infamous Miami, ran the fictitious "Pass the Heinz" angel commercials of 1994 for cream print ads this 2017, originally pitched in the cheese brand Philadelphia. They maintain show. Mad Men – premiering in 2007, set in their original playful tone, but reflect the 60s and spanning seven seasons – adds "contemporary cultural topics important to new cultural currency and various layers of [their] consumers", giving them the "best of nostalgia to the Heinz brand: "We would both worlds," say Creative Pool. love Mad Men fans to pick up on it, but we Preparing for the next generation of feel it works very well on its own, too," consumers, the pan-European campaign head of the brand Nicole Kulwicki told went live on TV, digital, social and in-store. AdWeek. Budweiser resurrected its famous 1995 On the uniqueness of this activity, Anselmo frog advert with a twist. Introducing a third Ramos, chief creative officer of David CGI frog, the Bud Light beer ad also targets commented: "Sometimes you’ll have two new consumers on social who may not have agencies collaborating for a client. This seen the original. According to the UK's time, it’s a fictional agency and a real Alex Siminoff/ Art Plus Marketing Office for National Statistics, the proportion agency." Released in an era of authenticity- of adults who drink alcohol is at its lowest seeking consumers, showrunner Matthew since 2005. This made 2017 an opportune Weiner declared that despite the show’s time for the beer brand to market its lighter reliance on real brands, most of them beer using nostalgia and its former hadn't paid to feature. "Pass the Heinz" won Superbowl association as the vehicle. two gold and one silver Lions at Cannes 2017. "THE SIMPLEST REASON FOR THIS EARLIER-THAN-EXPECTED REVIVAL IS THE FACT THAT, IN THE ALL-DIGITAL ERA, TWO DECADES IS WAAAAY TOO LONG TO WAIT ANYMORE. OUR ART-ABSORPTION METABOLISMS HAVE BEEN SPED UP BY THE WEB, WHICH OFTEN FEELS LIKE A BORDERLESS 24-HOUR CULTURE KLATCH. IN ORDER FOR NOSTALGIA TO SURVIVE, IT NEEDS A PEG, AND RIGHT NOW, CULTURE FEELS PEGLESS – MILLIONS OF PEOPLE, OCCUPYING MILLIONS OF DIFFERENT PARALLEL TIMELINES AND WORLDS, JOINED TOGETHER ONLY A FEW TIMES A YEAR." Brian Raftery Senior writer, WIRED ! Nike Simply iconic Reviving former icons is another way Pirelli's 2018 calendar reimagines Alice In brands – especially in sport and fashion – Wonderland with black influencers in key are standing out. "Supermodels come and roles, including Whoopi Goldberg, Naomi go in cycles… Aesthetically, right now, we Campbell, Puff Daddy and Lupita Nyong’o. are in the midst of a late 80s, early 90s Shot by Tim Walker and new editor-in-chief revival, an ultra-intensification of the sex of Vogue, Edward Enninful, even the choice and pageantry," writes Kinza Shen in i-D of creators adds to the work's narrative. Magazine. Taking reference from social "The worlds created by Walker, despite media's cycle, we are seeing a shift from representing a fantastic reality of an oversharing culture to the curated. essence which is both fragile and imperceptible, are at the same time never Former Gap icon Naomi Campbell returned far from our daily lives," says Pirelli's Pirelli for the February 2017 "Generation Gap" website. film, marking the return of a classic 1990s capsule collection. The video is a US Women's Soccer star Ashlyn Harris is the throwback to simpler times, amplifying new face of sports brand Umbro. This Gap's minimalist style whilst nodding to marks the current climate of female the desire for a simpler life today. empowerment, inclusion and equality. Anaïs Gallagher, the 17-year-old daughter of “I think everything really does come around Millennial icon Noel Gallagher was chosen again in a slightly different way, and we will for Reebok's August 2017 campaign. Using always interpret different decades in our a Gen Z model speaks to young consumers own way," explains Campbell. Demi Moore’s and lends the "cool factor" of 90s Britpop daughter Rumer Willis and Diana Ross’s son to the athletics brand. Evan Ross were also tapped for the film, bridging the gap between then and now. Vicky Grout Simply iconic CONTINUED In August 2017, Miami Ad School released print ads for electronics company Philips featuring Sully from Monsters, Inc. and Star Wars' Chewbacca. "Reveal more" was shaved into the chests of the hairy icons to promote Philips' home laser hair removal device and establish a more playful tone.