How Retro Ads Reach Parents and Kids

Any adult looking at recent new product releases by UK confectionary companies could be forgiven for thinking that they were living through the seventies rather than the noughties. In the last few years brands have spent millions resurrecting chocolate bars and crisps from the recent past - before marketing them to today's families with adverts that include more than a whiff of nostalgia.

So why are brands going back to the past to entice consumers of the future? The answer involves the problems posed by current regulation and the rise of parents who may prefer to take parenting inspiration from days gone by.

Regulation and the Retro Trend

New regulation introduced by the UK government has made it more difficult than ever for advertisers aiming at children to get their message across. The legislation means that advertisers are effectively banned from advertising products high in sugar, fat or salt directly to kids through TV adverts.

As sweet cereals, chocolates and crisps are precisely the products that make up the bulk of children's advertising; this presents the ad industry with a poser. One way the advertisers can get around the legislation is by trying to introduce their products to the family market through parents. By re-releasing products popular during parents' childhoods they can immediately create a buzz within families. Parents will be curious to taste for a second times the flavours of their youth while modern kids will be keen to see what parents are making a fuss about. Best of all, advertisers can achieve all this while keeping well within the new laws.

A Taste of the Past

By using these techniques, advertisers can tap into powerful emotional responses. Psychologists say that as adults we tend to idealise our childhoods and block out anything bad. Therefore, to the middle-aged mind the weather was always better, the days longer and the sweets far sweeter when we were young. Products from the past - especially emotionally resonant treats such as chocolate bars and crisps - come pre-packaged with a warm, cosy glow.

The Rise in Retro Parenting

This pre-packaged appeal also dovetails nicely with the trend for contemporary parents to attempt to block out the modern world and try to give children a childhood that harks back to more innocent times. This trend is already reflected by TV scheduling. Shows such as Doctor Who are popular because they square well with parents' views of what the experience of childhood should be like. These kinds of family units have been dubbed 'retro families' by advertisers keen to sell them a slice of the past.

The Problem With Nostalgia

While capitalising on the 'nostalgia factor' seems like a safe bet for put-upon advertisers - it does have its risks. A product that has to live up to a much-loved childhood taste already has its work cut out. Adult palates (and modern children's) are increasingly sophisticated and might reject the very sweet (or very salty) tastes that were once popular.

Whether this new breed of advertising works or not, the ad industry must be hoping that at least it will bring back some goodwill on the part of the consumer. Somewhere in this ad strategy there's the idea that, before 'five a day' and low fat diets, sugary, high fat foods were once something to be cherished.