Yearning Sells
Straight-leg jeans. Graphic tees. Biker shorts. Digital cameras. Cassette tapes. Boxy cars. Flip phones. Oasis returns. The 90s are back and analog is in. Brands like J Crew, Abercrombie & Fitch, and The Gap have all made historic comebacks, each posting impressive earnings. Some brands are looking even further back with Hyundai announcing the N Vision 74, a modern revival of the Hyundai Pony Coup 1974. Kith just announced a collab with Giorgio Armani. Nostalgia trends aren’t new, but what began with the sequels and prequels of old classics has now trickled down to consumer products, making the past seem so much more relevant than whatever comes next.
Nostalgia was once a sickness. The disease was similar to paranoia, except the sufferer was manic with longing, not perceived persecution, and similar to melancholy, except specific to an object or place. Manic from longing sounds like a daily occurrence on Tiktok, with its cousin, yearning, becoming staples for playlist names Spotify designs “just for you”. This emotional pandemic was reportedly prominent in the fall when the falling leaves prompted melancholics to think of the passage of time and their own mortality. It infected many soldiers and left them practically incapacitated because all they did was yearn to go home.
Look at this account of Frederic Whipple, a Union soldier from the Civil War:
One day, Whipple presented himself to an army surgeon, who could find nothing wrong with him other than an extreme desire to return home. For today’s physicians, homesickness is not a special cause for concern, but Whipple’s case quickly became dire.
“His orderly-sergeant could do nothing with him in his company,” wrote Chaplain Edwin Haynes. “He was finally put into the Hospital, where, refusing to be nursed, after a few days he died, moaning piteously all the time, ‘I want to go home—I want to go home.’” — A Death from Nostalgia
You’re away from your family and your home, plus you’re fighting in a brutal war. Sounds like a cry for help. Relatable.
Nostalgia isn’t just a fleeting emotion; it’s deeply rooted in how our brains process memory and emotions. Psychologically, it taps into a longing for the past, but what’s more interesting is how it serves as a coping mechanism. When you feel uncertain or anxious about the future, nostalgia acts as a comfort blanket, offering a sense of stability by reminding us of a time when things felt simpler, whether they actually were or not.
We came to later realize that this was a normal response to trauma, with many of the other symptoms being more attached to those of depression or anxiety. That specific feeling, however, of longing for the past, when times were seemingly better, is a response to existential dread. But how does that translate to brands and consumers? Why does it work?
Imprinted
I rewatched Beetlejuice the other day to catch up on the upcoming sequel. My first thought was “they don’t make movies like this anymore”, as if I had visited the theater back in the day and seen it on opening night — a ridiculous thought. This happens because I saw the original as a kid with my parents. It was such a strange film that was imprinted into my memory and now reminds me of the past.
Nostalgia marketing taps into positive emotions by connecting familiar concepts with a brand, linking it to cherished memories from a customer's past. The Marlboro Man didn’t connect with shoppers because of the shared memories of being a cowboy, but because they grew. up watching westerns which portrayed them as heroes. It’s a combination of the zeitgeist and nostalgia that makes the feeling so widespread. A lot of the fashion trends can be attributed specifically to Princess Diana because history remembers her fondly. J Crew even brought back their catalog:
Discontinued in 2017 after three decades, the catalog was once a beloved icon of American fashion. The elaborate photo shoots—on far-flung beaches, yachts and mountains—epitomized wealthy Americana and helped convince shoppers that they too could have a small taste of that lifestyle if they wore roll neck sweaters with chinos and barn jackets.
The returning catalog will ship in early September, as J.Crew tries to capitalize on momentum fueled by nostalgia. — J.Crew Fans, Get Ready: The Catalog Is Back, WSJ
When J. Crew reintroduces its classic catalog or Hyundai revives the design of the 1974 Pony Coupe, they’re not just banking on aesthetic appeal. They’re tapping into an emotional reservoir, a well of memories that consumers unconsciously associate with comfort and security. I’m already excited for the rumored Apple flip phone and I don’t even understand why, but it sounds cool.
Although everyone complains that there are no new original ideas, nostalgia marketing continues to work because with each resurgence of an old trend comes a new audience. Younger consumers then become imprinted with the trend and will most likely buy into it when the next comeback happens. It’s an endless cycle that continues to be accelerated by social media. We know that social media has shortened attention spans and the 24-hour news cycle has created a constant churn of trends, shortening the timeline for an eventual comeback.
Another familiar brand that has brought back a print version is the Onion. After their acquisition, part of the plan to revamp the satirical paper was to deliver newspapers, a return to form. When asked why, CEO Ben Collins said:
I remember exactly the first time picking up an Onion newspaper. It was in a box outside the Christian Science Center in Boston, and I was like, “There’s this free bucket of jokes. How is this possible?” I was proud to be an American or something. I was just like, “How is this happening?” And I wanted to bring back that feeling. The staff was so excited about it. They had been living in this content farm hell for the last few years, where they were literally trying to get people to click through on a slideshow to refresh programmatic advertising. And you can run a business like that, but it drives you insane. — How The Onion is saving itself from the digital media death spiral, The Verge
While you can attribute the yearning for physical products like catalogs, newspapers, and books to general exhaustion with devices, it’s just another form of repackaged nostalgia. Instead of war, however, the existential dread of our times is too much information. We’re so aware of everything that we long for simple leisure. To sit back with our feet up, flipping the pages of a catalog, daydreaming about the elaborate photo shoots of strangers instead of watching stories of familiar faces on a yacht in Miami. We should be so lucky.
Thank you
If I get one more Spotify daylist with the ‘yearning’ in the title I’m gonna sue. As always, if you have any questions, want more explanations, or strongly disagree, comment below, follow me on Twitter (X), follow me on Instagram, or shoot me an email.
Disclaimer: These views are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization with which I am affiliated with. This article is written with AI assistance.