"This device isn't a spaceship, it's a time machine. It goes backwards, and forwards... it takes us to a place where we ache to go again," Don Draper
Nostalgia is as Mad Men character, Don Draper describes it, "the pain from an old wound." This very clip actually (though I'm not sure if pitches for nostalgic marketing go like this) represents almost everything about nostalgia. This marketing is a very particular and stylized marking process because it goes with a very specific theme that connects with a different audience. It makes an impression to both young and old.
Some advantages of nostalgia marketing is that it can be recycled. It can be advertised to different generations of consumers and it can also be iconic because that image is reused in a different way. Another advantage of nostalgia is that it is very sentimental and symbolic. It creates a certain empathy and feeling that no other kind of marketing can make. This advantage already has an emotional connection with its consumers. In the Volkswagen situation, nostalgia came in handy because it built awareness for the brand.
The only time nostalgia becomes a disadvantage is when it tries to be something new. Audiences recognize an old brand because it's iconic. Not because it's new or different, rather they're familiar with what the brand is known for.
The only time nostalgia marketing may not be successful is when advertising for technology. Technology such as computers, phones, or anything that has to be futuristic. Technology is a step forward whereas nostalgia is a step backward. It wouldn't make sense to make the newest tech piece "vintage" or "retro". Nostalgia is pretty effective marketing tool because it focuses on a feeling rather than the actual product itself. In conclusion, nostalgia marketing is one of those pieces in advertising where it works for certain and particular products.
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