Dr No-No: Brands face threat of 'regressive nostalgia'

Marketing textbooks might well state that consumers look to nostalgia in hard times but brand owners are being urged to tread carefully when adopting this strategy, amid claims that many of the negative connotations associated with the past can alienate their core consumer base.

The warning follows a major research project which examined the James Bond movie franchise – a cultural icon for over 70 years – and discovered that some ‘super-consumers’ react negatively to modern portrayals of the fictional British secret agent that reflect contemporary societal values.

While loyal to the brand, these consumers prefer traditional, more exclusionary, versions of Bond which most closely follow author Ian Fleming’s original 1950s and 1960s vision – characterised as an arrogant, misogynistic, and racist Imperial British male.

It highlights how ‘regressive nostalgia’ can lead to certain consumers – abeit a minority but very vocal group – clinging to idealised past versions of brands and resist attempts to move with the times.

Publishing their findings in the International Journal of Research in Marketing, consumer behaviour experts from the University of Birmingham and ESCP Business School, London, note that this form of nostalgia is characterised by a preference for racial and cultural purity and heroic masculinity.

However, the phenomenon harbours exclusionary and aggressive tendencies that pose significant threats to all brands that go down this route.

University of Birmingham Professor of Marketing Finola Kerrigan said: “The James Bond franchise is a perfect example of how ‘regressive nostalgia’ manifests. While the brand has successfully adapted to changing times, a small but disproportionally vocal part of its fanbase is anchored in the past, highlighting the need for careful brand management.

“These ‘super-consumers’ cling to Ian Fleming’s characterisation of Bond and the period during which the novels were written to justify their nostalgia. They actively resist attempts to modernise the franchise, dismissing as ‘woke nonsense’ recent movies such as ‘No Time to Die’.”

ESCP Business School, London, Professor of Marketing Chloe Preece meanwhile notes that these super-consumers view Bond as a heroic, white, male icon providing a ‘safe space’ for those feeling threatened by contemporary discussion about creating a more inclusive society. The character’s ‘man-of-action’ persona allows this group of mostly male consumers to identify with the spy’s ‘heroic masculinity’ based on his ability to sleep with the ‘Bond girls’.

And, while the study focuses on the Bond franchise, it comes as many brands – including Raleigh’s Chopper revivial and Hovis and Branston resurrecting old straplines – are increasingly turning back the clock to the “good ol’ days” of the Seventies.

The researchers maintain that marketers should be alert to the risk posed by nostalgia and have devised toolkit comprising of a series of questions to help brand managers assess the level of threat.

These include examining the brand’s connection with the past as well as any market research data the brand has that supports the analysis of its relationship to the past; what does it cost the brand to sustain this connection with the past, and what is the brand benefit from doing so.

Independent scholar Dr Daragh O’Reilly, who also contributed to the study, said: “Brands use nostalgia to connect with consumers – delighting and enchanting their customer base whilst connecting them to others – but this makes nostalgia potentially dangerous in drawing consumers to the past, when it creates a sense of loss combining a cherished past and a despised present.

“In order to minimise the negative impact of regressive nostalgia, it is important that the brand does not pander to the nostalgia displayed by a minority of super-consumers. Brand stewards must not be swayed by these loud voices and become exclusionary.”