Do You Remember? A Comparison of Nostalgic Ad-Evoked Responses by Baby-Boomers and Generation Y

The purpose of this study is to assess emotions and attitudes induced by nostalgic advertisement in the age cohorts baby-boomers and generation Y. The results presented in this working paper are derived from the first... [ view full abstract ]

The purpose of this study is to assess emotions and attitudes induced by nostalgic advertisement in the age cohorts baby-boomers and generation Y. The results presented in this working paper are derived from the first explorative study phase. 20 semi-structured interviews incorporating nostalgic advertisements as stimuli were conducted. Interviewees were prompted about their emotions and nostalgic feelings watching the commercials. The findings show, that both groups experience positive emotions and nostalgic thoughts. Baby-boomers report more nostalgic thoughts than generation Y, suggesting that nostalgic ads trigger more personal than historical nostalgia. Persons from generation Y indicate more positive emotions, whereas baby-boomers emphasis the bittersweet character of nostalgia, implying both joy and sadness. This qualitative study serves as a first probe into ad-evoked historical and personal nostalgia and the accompanying emotions. In a second step a quantitative study (scheduled for April 2015) is conducted to elicit on the effects on attitude towards the ad and the advertised brand of both cohorts. No prior empirical study tests the different responses of baby-boomers and generation Y on ad-evoked nostalgia. The study has practical implications for marketers, as nostalgic advertising currently focuses on the large baby-boomer segment, neglecting the effects on other age groups.