Bygone days and memories: the effects of nostalgic ads on consumer brand resurrection movements

Abstract

This study aims to provide an understanding of how nostalgic ads (i.e., personal, historical, and cultural) influence customers’ participation in bringing dead brands back to life [i.e., brand resurrection movements (BRM)] compared to non-nostalgic ads. Using the psychological reactance theory of behavior explanation as a lens, this study builds on an analysis of data from n = 644 millennial consumers of defunct brands who wish to bring the dead brands back to life. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and the SPSS PROCESS macro. When personally, historically, and culturally nostalgic ads and non-nostalgic ads were assessed, historically nostalgic ads had the strongest effect on consumers’ engagement with BRM. The moderation results suggest that both personal and non-nostalgic ads also have a strong effect on BRM participation for men, while the influence is less prominent for women consumers. Conversely, historically nostalgic ads are more effective at increasing BRM involvement among women than among men. The moderation of age reveals that personally and historically nostalgic ads are more capable of securing consumers’ engagement in BRM for older customers, while culturally nostalgic and non-nostalgic ads are effective at increasing consumers’ engagement in BRM among both younger and older customers equally.