Times are bad – back to the old times?

There are a couple of good articles in Saturday’s FT about the impact of the recession on advertising and fashion – in particular the way it will (is) creating a tide of nostalgia and reflecting back to times of supposed certainty. You should be able to access these links without a subscription – you might need to register.

Advertising

Slideshow of old ads

Fashion

An ad that has been running since Sept 2008 shows how Hovis has taken is classical "boy on the bike" ad and extended it into today’s world. It is a simple story but no worse for that and I think works well - not sure if it sells any more bread but I certainly enjoy watching.

So does nostalgia work – is it something that rings the bells of the older consumer – is it an example of age neutral creative? Come you creative types share your views. It must be a question that is being asked by a lot of brand managers right now.

This is the original ad. Dick Stroud