Tagged 'nostalgia'

Israel’s Tara Dairy puts a humorous spin on nostalgia

Published by Romy Gakh - Tel Aviv on August 30, 2010 in Middle East. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

The recession has changed consumer sentiment toward low-cost, basic products, which are no longer seen as cheap and down-market but rather a proud social statement—a shift leveraged in an Effie-winning rebranding for Israel’s Tara Dairy (Tara), Tara’s products had been considered outdated for an age when many consumers opt for milk that’s fortified in various ways or low fat, and communication was aimed at older, conservative shoppers.

JWT Israel decided to tap into nostalgia for a “back to basics” message, but with a fun, humorous spin. To illustrate Tara’s tagline, “It all begins with excellent milk,” a series of commercials feature Israeli comedic icon Menashe Noy cast as a typical 1960s dairy farmer on a kibbutz. Tending to his cows in a rolling green meadow, Menashe Noy tells stories about his favorite cow in an old-fashioned and annoying but funny way, with many irrelevant details, jumping from one loosely related anecdote to another. He conjures up a simpler time for Israeli viewers.

The campaign managed to both create an aura of nostalgic simplicity around the brand and position Tara as a youthful, energetic brand.

Nostalgia, hometown heroes and managing the risk of athlete endorsements

Published by Sharon Panelo - New York on July 9, 2010 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

yogi_berraSports branding and sponsorships are forecast to be the fastest-growing component of global sports market spending over the period 2009-2013, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. But after the lost endorsement costs of Tiger Woods, anxious brands are looking for ways to hedge the risk of featuring star athletes. “The only safe athlete is one whose story is complete,” noted Sports Illustrated in the early days of the Woods scandal.

Accordingly, some brands are looking to athletes with nostalgic appeal. A new campaign from iXP Corp., a U.S. firm that consults on emergency-response systems, features Yogi Berra and illustrates, according to The New York Times, “the consistent demand among marketers for endorsers—particularly athletes—who have proven themselves over the long term.” Other safe bets the Times cites include Cal Ripken Jr., Joe Montana and Jack Nicklaus.

Other brands are diversifying their endorsement portfolios with “hometown heroes” who can drive timely regional campaigns. New online services like Brand Affinity Technologies are helping to disrupt the traditional endorsement model—based on national campaigns and six-figure deals—by connecting regional athletes with advertisers, enabling quick creation of lower-cost local campaigns. When the Detroit Red Wings advanced to the Stanley World Cup finals last year, for example, within days Ford was featuring team captain Nicklas Lidstrom in an online campaign for the Fusion targeted to Detroit.

Photo Credit: terryballard

From Mello Yello to L.L. Bean, brands look back to move forward

Published by Marian Berelowitz - New York on June 18, 2010 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Tapping into nostalgia and heritage has been a recession marketing tactic among brands across categories and continents (we’ve written about relevant campaigns in the U.K., New Zealand and the U.S.). Harking back to better, simpler times idea can serve as a source of comfort for unsettled consumers.

We’ve seen many instances of this in food and beverage marketing, and the latest comes from Coca-Cola. A new campaign for Mello Yello (Coke’s very low-profile answer to Pepsi’s Mountain Dew) revives the original logo from 1979 and uses the tagline “The original smooth.” Brandweek quotes a brand strategist who says Mello Yello’s retro strategy makes sense given that “things with an edge speak to fast pace, hectic and crazy. People are already overwhelmed quite a bit.”

Recently this trend has popped up in fashion. The New York Times spotlighted several long-established brands that have revived bygone looks “in the hope that old clothing styles with a classic feel will assuage consumer anxiety in shaky times.” These include Jantzen (which has updated its swimsuits from various decades of the 20th century), L.L. Bean and Eddie Bauer. A TV spot showing models in L.L. Bean’s Signature Collection amid idyllic New England scenery includes the tagline “Inspired by our heritage. Designed for today.” Tapping into the brand’s history seems like a good way to assure shoppers looking to spend on items that are more timeless than trendy.

NatWest harks back to a better time to boost customer confidence

Published by Brooke Curtis - London on April 2, 2010 in Europe. 0 Comments Tags: , .

In the aftermath of the U.K. banking crisis, banks are trying to increase consumer confidence. NatWest, which was touting its MoneySense advisers at the start of the recession, is revisiting customers featured in an old campaign. And as a consequence, we find our confidence in the bank increasing. Why?

First, we see these customers are still with NatWest, a sign the bank is a safe bet. Second, it’s strangely refreshing to see that some customers have experienced difficulties, just like the rest of us. While the pregnant woman now has a cherubic baby, we also flash back to a guy who told us he needed to save for an engagement ring—and if his girlfriend said no, he’d buy a car. We see him today, and he confirms what we feared: He bought a car! We feel empathy, thereby warming our feelings toward NatWest.

Finally, and most powerfully, NatWest returns us to a time when we trusted banks. A time when we had no anxiety that our money wouldn’t be there when we went to withdraw it. And what a better time that was.

Helpful Banking for 2010

Singer Wainwright sees some brands as synonymous with the ‘New Depression’

Published by Deanna Zammit - New York on April 1, 2010 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

loudon-wIn the good ole’ days—about three years ago—it seemed brands racked up only laudatory shout-outs in music lyrics. You remember, back when we were all riding in Escalades, passing the Courvoisier, shaking it like a Polaroid picture. (In 2008 Wired looked at how some brands actually courted musicians.) Now, folk musician Loudon Wainwright III is singling out a handful of brand names for some not so flattering attention. His latest album, Ten Songs for the New Depression, is a compendium about the new hard times, channeling the spirit of the Great Depression with ukulele strains and cutting lyrics.

One that captures consumer helplessness: “Times is tough/Times is hard/take a pair of scissors to your credit card/Circuit City just said, ‘So long!’/All I can do is sing this song.” Wainwright takes aside GMC and Volvo for a slap in the riff “Cash for Clunkers,” while “The Krugman Blues” is a paean to The New York Times columnist, if not the sour commentary he’s been doling out. How can brands escape this downturn without becoming synonymous with the “New Depression”? Survival, for starters. But beyond that, Wainwright’s self-pity suggests consumers need a comforting tone. A good banjo tune helps too.

Photo Credit: http://www.lw3.com/songs.php

Craze for historical figure spotlights Japan’s loss of faith

Published by Jordan Price - Tokyo on March 29, 2010 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

ryoma-sakamotoI recently discussed the rising popularity of history among young women in Japan. This trend has been expanding to a broader segment of the population, with a new craze for all things related to one historical figure in particular: Ryoma Sakamoto. A rebel samurai from the late 19th century, Sakamoto was a driving force of the Meiji Restoration (which returned power to the emperor, speeding modernization and ending the country’s self-imposed isolation). He is the father of the modern Japanese navy and was a visionary leader during a tumultuous period who realized that to compete globally, Japan had to unite and to modernize.

Led by a drama based on his life that aired on Japan’s national broadcaster, NHK, a boom in everything Sakamoto has given rise to books, anime and manga, events, lectures and tours of historical sites. All Nippon Airways is even decorating one of its jets with a giant image of Sakamoto. I previously noted that this fascination with historical figures appears to be driven by a sense that modern Japan has lost its way and a search for better models from the past. The focus on Sakamoto seems to be linked to similarities between the times he lived in and today, and the feeling that Japan is at another crossroads, again facing an uncertain future.

For businesses and brands, there’s an opportunity to help people envision a better future and to define it for them. We’ve seen plenty of examples of this on the environmental front but fewer on a social level. One of the more innovative examples is JWT’s “Lead India” campaign, launched by The Times of India in 2008, which sought to inspire Indians to become more engaged citizens.

 

Photo Credit: Robert Sanzalone

Seeking heroes, Japanese look to history

Published by Jordan Price - Tokyo on March 10, 2010 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

history-girls-4Among the Top 10 most popular words/phrases for 2009 in Japan, a list compiled by publisher Jiyu Kokuminsha, was Reki-jo—literally, “history girls.” Young Japanese women are suddenly taken with Japanese history, in particular warlords and famous samurai of the Warring States period (the mid-15th to early 17th centuries). And it doesn’t seem to be just a passing fad.

The history-focused Jidai Shobo bookstore in Tokyo, for example, had predominantly male customers when it opened in 2006, but a news report says that more than half are now women, and 90 percent are in their 20s and 30s. The history magazine Rekishi Kaido has seen its circulation jump to more than 120,000 from 70,000 five years ago, with female readership rising from 15 percent to 40 percent.

This trend seems to be driven in part by young women searching for models of masculinity http://item.rakuten.co.jp/keitai/408-638880/in reaction to the startling rise in asexual, unambitious “herbivore boys” (discussed in a previous post). But deeper than that, it also seems connected to a growing undercurrent of sentiment that the nation has lost its way. The recession has driven faith in government and business leadership to an all-time low and even given rise to more general questioning of various aspects of modern life, pushing many to look for better models from the past. The historical figures being idolized represent lives based on strong principles and convictions, and a greater vision—exactly what’s seen to be missing in political, social and business leadership and modern life.

What this means for brands in Japan is that there’s a void to be filled: a hunger for leadership, passion and vision. More than ever, brands must better define their core principles and values, and fully live by them, so that brands themselves can become respected role models.

Photo Credits: http://item.rakuten.co.jp/, http://books.rakuten.co.jp/rb

Kia Motors drives on toward a brighter tomorrow

Published by Jessica Vaughn - New York on January 13, 2010 in North America. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Kia Motors envisions a new future for the American auto industry in a spot introducing the company’s West Point, Ga., plant, its first manufacturing facility in the U.S.

The commercial features a young boy in 1951 riding a bicycle through time straight into 2010 and the company’s brand new Georgia plant. As the boy rides, a voiceover describes how Kia has evolved over the past 60 years from a bike manufacturer to a leading international automaker. Kia attributes its success to the company’s progressive spirit. Since the 1950s, Kia has continually challenged itself to “come up with better ways to help people get around.” The voiceover goes on to say how the new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in West Point, Ga., is the company’s proudest achievement yet, not because it demonstrates how far Kia has come, but because it offers “a glimpse of where we’re headed tomorrow.” The commercial concludes with Kia’s past and present alongside each other as the boy and his bike watch Kia’s newest car, the Sorento, drive off into the future.

This spot provides an excellent example of how hope-filled rather than fear-filled messaging can help brands transition into recovery. Instead of focusing on the auto industry’s turbulent past, Kia is shining a light on the future promising better days ahead for the American auto industry and auto worker. In this spot, Kia offers a future in which consumers will be better off thanks to the ambition, innovation and optimism at the core of the company.

In Australia, MasterCard focuses on the meaning of the moment

Published by Mollie Hill - Sydney on December 15, 2009 in Asia Pacific. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Could there be a growing realization that life is more than a series of transactions—even from a credit card brand? The latest Australian MasterCard campaign reflects an attitude fostered by the recent economic downturn: a turn away from compulsive consumption and a focus on appreciating the value of “the moment,” and specifically the time that goes into making that moment special. (Just last week, we highlighted an L.L.Bean holiday commercial that also emphasizes the value of the moment.)

The 30-second spot shows how a rock is formed over eons, from its origins in a volcano to being skipped over water by a dad and his son. Says the voiceover: “Not knowing how much goes into a moment? Priceless.” This is an interesting shift of the “Priceless” campaign, which has focused on the transactions that go into reaching a “priceless” moment. (The commercial promotes MasterCard Moments, “an exclusive program of awe-inspiring experiences specially chosen for Gold and Platinum MasterCard holders.”)

AnxietyIndex research has shown Australians to be particularly pessimistic about the future relative to the actual impact of the global recession on their lives. Coming out of this unsettled and uncertain period, the importance of time, family and the special moments that arise from these serves as a strong leverage point for brands looking for to engage audiences in a deeper and more meaningful conversation.

In Germany, Coca-Cola positions itself at center of family meal

Published by Magdalena Rataj on October 19, 2009 in Europe. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

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“Coke deckt den Tisch” (“Coke sets the table”), Coca-Cola’s new campaign in Germany, brings the whole family back to the table and successfully communicates that Coca-Cola is a perfect drink to serve at mealtime.

Families tend to come together during economic downturns and uncertain times, and they’re more likely to do so at home, since people are dining out less often. A recent survey by TNS Infratest on behalf of Coca-Cola confirmed this and also found that in Germany almost half of Coca-Cola drinks are served with food. And 40 percent of these drinks are consumed at home. The survey also found that 95 percent of families want to spend more time together and more than two-thirds want to eat at home together more often, but only half do so.