Bring the Polar Bears back!

Nostalgia Marketing has many advantages and disadvantages that may help a product become successful.  Nostalgia Marketing keeps viewers of different generations engaged to a product. Some old figures or symbols are used as a means to introduce it to someone new or re-introduce the product to someone who has either used the product or seen it before. Nostalgia marketing has some major advantages because it gives viewers a sense of belonging and a reminder of how successful the product is. Specific advantages of nostalgia marketing is that it brings back loyal customers every time and can entice new ones to be apart of the loyal group of customers. Nostalgia marketing brings back memories of good experiences people have had with a product and helps create a universal symbol for the brand. This is important because a universal symbol makes the product known throughout the world. Major disadvantages of nostalgia marketing because some symbols can bring bad memories to customers and some nostalgic figures or symbols can give a negative impression to the public--such as being extremely annoying.

A marketing campaign that I feel wasn't successful and actually has a negative affect is the Chihuahua Dog of Taco Bell. Taco Bell has used the small dog for years and was known for its catch phrase “Yo Quiero Taco Bell”. After repetitive exposure of the dog, it became an universal symbol of Taco Bell. The dog appeared in many advertisements and played many roles within different commercials. The end of the Taco Bell Dog came to end when many Latin Cultural Groups felt the dog provided a negative stereotype of the Latin Culture. Taco Bell decided to end the advertising campaign due to multiple complaints of about the Taco Bell Dog. In general however, the phrase was too repetitive and the voice in my opinion annoyed me.

A successful product created with nostalgic marketing is the Pepsi polar bear symbol. The success came from its playful appearance to audiences and has helped remind customers of the cool refreshing taste of the Pepsi Soda, and how it can be shared. The Pepsi Polar Bear symbol has been successful throughout the years because Pepsi strategically advertises the bear during the Christmas/Winter time to not only remind customers of their products, but other external factors like it's winter and the holiday season. The sound affect that they use when they open a Pepsi product is so refreshing as well. The polar bear itself is also very cute and they introduced a baby polar bears as well which we make an indirect connection with family. These memories all make us feel warm and loved, which is why this marketing strategy works compared to Taco Bell's Chihuahua dog that obnoxiously appears on screen.