Newstalgia Explained: Why do brands look back to move forward

Newstalgia Summer

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Why we look back to look forward

You’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve been living in the dream house recently. Hot-pink merch and Kenergy has swept the world like a marshmallow storm.

Next gen dreams

Marketing master-class

Ruth Handler’s vision for Barbie was born in 1950, watching her daughter play with paper dolls. As her childlike wonder animated them with a rich imaginary life, Ruth had a vision, away from the figurines of baby and child and toward the future of womanhood.

Mattel and Universal are hosting a marketing master-class on how to take beloved icons of the past and bedazzle them with modern-day sensibilities and innovative brand partnerships.

Barbie was born as a means to channel the grown-up hopes and dreams of its playmates. And so it’s with saccharine sweetness that Robbie and Gosling’s revival speaks to the joy of its veteran collectors, whilst bringing the next generation into the fold.

It’s no surprise in categories creaking at the seams with new players, those that can weave in the familiar with contemporary twists, stand to gain a huge advantage.

So why are brands getting Newstalgic in 2023 and what we can learn from them?

Explaining newstalgia

What is Newstalgia?

Newstalgia is the concept of colliding the past with the present. Taking references from history and reworking them with modern updates and culturally contextual modifications.

From entire subcultures, to an aesthetic detail on a piece of furniture or clothing, it’s a way to harmoniously join the classic and contemporary to create a unique and own-able look.

Why does it happen?

The political, economic, social and environmental climate of our times have us looking to the past for references to navigate, embrace or even escape from it. This plays out in a number of ways

Escape today

Find Comfort in the known

In a world of unrest and instability, back to back unprecedented events and the constant hum of concerning headlines available from our pockets, taking a journey back to a time when the problems didn’t exist, or even when we were too carefree to acknowledge them,

is a quick fix of comfort. Newstalgia can act as a psychosomatic comfort blanket, a magnet to good memories and better vibes.

The impending relaunch of Babycham might see us back drinking the coupes of cut-price sophistication.

Embrace the old ways

From simplicity to intricacy

The smart-phone era created a glut of minimalist, mobileoptimised brands, that in their simplicity began to merged into a sea of sameness. Naturally the pendulum has swung the other way with growing desire for ornate,

intricate and meaningimbued design. Burberry’s redesignprovoked sighs of relief from designers the world over, for whom minimalism felt like a necessary evil, not a thoughtful decision.

The fully seriffed and symbol-dense brand world speaks to a historic Britishness perfectly in juxtaposition with its contemporary photography and modern-day British icons as campaign stars.

“...More than surprising people, I really would like them to see the new vision and feel reassuredlike, ‘oh, yeah, this makes sense: This is what Burberry should be”

- Daniel Lee, Burberry Chief Creative Officer

Nostalgia for old and new

In a world of unrest and instability, back to back unprecedented events and the constant hum of concerning headlines available from our pockets, taking a journey back to a time when the problems didn’t exist, or even when we were too carefree to acknowledge them, is a quick fix of comfort.

Newstalgia can act as a psychosomatic comfort blanket, a magnet to good memories and better vibes.

Vacation Inc. The neo-80’s sunscreen and skin brand, which is designed to smell like the summer. the wearer in a nostalgic water, pool toy and swimsuit lycra.

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Deeper-rooted meaning

Clothes, tech, even a coffee cup, are all signallers to show our beliefs to the world without saying a word. When people come together over established brands of the past those values have already had time to root and grow into culture in meaningful ways.

Cultural re-establishment

These nostalgic and wellestablished brands can act as an organic algorithm to find more community and subculture (as well as other brands) that align with the original values.

Thus heritage brands which choose to revisit the archive of design, reviving iconic work and seminal products, are presented with an opportunity to return to the original beliefs, values and founding ideas of the business.

For better or worse, Fred Perry has always been a symbol of sticking it to the proverbial man.

Where’s Newstalgia at play?

Fashion’s stealth-like ability to take the threads of the past and evoke meaning with them today is well-documented, but technology, entertainment, FMCG, and beauty are all catching eyes and triggering nostalgia neurons with recent plays.

The following are a few that have caught our attention...

AR ABBA

If you ‘re a Londoner and haven’t seen the earnest faces of Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Bjorn and Benny staring at you from posters the city over you’re part of a diminishingly small group.

Abba Voyage is the augmented reality concert giving the best of the super-groups live performances in the 70s with an uncanny valley twist.

Using the latest AR tech, holographic avatars of the band sing, dance and delight to crowds of old timers and first-timers alike.

Abba Voyage represents a fusion of new and old, offering a unique and immersive encounter with the beloved music of Abba, captivating audiences with a sense of nostalgia made larger

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people in attened the London shows in the first year. Now embarking on the world tour until 2026.

Perfect strangers

Whilst reviving beloved TV is a network’s meal ticket, the value in creating era-specific watching from scratch has proved to be exponential in hype and cash-generation alike.

The masters of Newstalgia, Stranger Things, take the technicolour of the 80s and bring it everywhere from fast-fashion to full-scale experiential.

80s Creative boom

Their synthwave soundtrack playing with familiarity and novelty in equal measure, the brandworld is a vista of neons and Goosebump-esque tableaus, available to view in 4K.

Arguably their vision has been so influential it’s in part to blame for the 80’s inspired design boom in consumer goods the world over.

Stranger Things, have recreated their 80s mall and arcade in experiential pop-ups across the globe.

Amazon’s ‘Daisy Jones’ undoubtedly hoping to follow suit.

Spotting the zitgeist

A contemporary twist on traditional acne treatment, here Newstalgia isn’t about rebuilding the design codes of an era but a return to youth itself.

Starface’s pimple patches are a playground-playful blemish product, that flips the narrative

on hiding away in throes of face flare ups and instead turn them into something to give yourself a gold (or neon pink) star for.

Their punchy colours, unique shapes and beloved characters from Sesame Street to Sanrio, brings a little child-like joy to a

Gen Z consumer for which every other aspect of their experience has been fast-tracked toward maturity.

Starface’s launch echoed 90s nostalgia with assertive angles, retro style and trademark sunshine yellow.

Anemoia aqua

While many are barely recovering from the news that the 90s is considered vintage, Gen Zs are resolutely enamoured with the nostalgia of Y2K. And as Juicy Couture and Von Dutch caps are traded like the FTSE on Depop, ironically unironic water brand, Gen Z Water, takes its visual style from early internet culture.

From their chaotic gif-laden website to their surreal chunky 3D aquarium renders, it’s re-imagining the sterile world of bottled water for a generation in which sensoryoverload is a RTB.

But in true Newstalgia fashion they champion and encourage keeping the aluminium canisters for refill as well as recycling, playing right into Gen Z’s desire and demand for sustainability in all forms.

Gen Z’s website reminds the user of days where the internet was not as technologically advanced as it is today, creating anemoia with lines such as “for people who never owned a flip phone” or “welcome the internet”

Stay Wu

Playing off multiple nostalgic categories and icons can not only reinforce and bring alive the essence of a brand but also engage, and even create, niche interest groups at the intersection of all points.

One shining example of this is Ballantine’s ongoing collaboration with Wu Tang Clan member RZA. The first drop of the partnership features a oneof-its-kind record player and speaker made with Newstalgia stalwarts Crosley. Bringing the worlds of music, whisky and design together to create an experience deeply resonant with Ballantine’s mantra of Stay True.

“When I was in the Highlands with Ballantine’s, I came to realise making whiskey is like making a song... When the elements come together, it’s harmony” - RZA, Wu Tang Clan

What’s to gain?

When new products and brands enter a category, legacy players with rooted historic identities have a clear opportunity. Going back to the future for design allows them to tap back into what made them beloved in the first place.

New brands alike have the opportunity to transcend demographics and speak to an abundance of shared mindsets, whose visual codes and design cues have been written and established over the ages.

Newstalgia represents a unique intersection of nostalgia and modernity, offering a bridge between what has been and what is still to come. In an era where change is constant, and the pace of life can be overwhelming, the allure of Newstalgia lies in its ability to provide a sense of grounding and continuity.

By embracing and reinterpreting elements fromthe past, we can tap into our collective cultural memories, celebrate our shared heritage, and find inspiration for the future.

As technology continues to evolve, Newstalgia will undoubtedly remain a dynamic force, shaping the way we experience and interact with the world around us.

This Barbie’s looking forward to it.

Written by Alixanne Hucker, Senior

Linkedin: Alixanne Hucker

Strategist

Email: Alixanne.Hucker@Missouri-Creative.com

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