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Retro food

Those who remember this have to be at least in their thirties: Before Mars named its famous twin chocolate bar Twix, it was sold in mainland Europe under the name Raider, with the slogan “Deux doigts coupe faim”, translated literally in English to «Two fingers cut hunger». At that time, the dictums for eating well were not paraded nearly as much, and only the immediate act of eating and its pleasure was considered… Twenty-five years after the change was met with outcries from loyal fans, Mars announced the resurrection of Raider bars in the Netherlands and in northern Belgium, as a limited edition series and with packaging from the original time period… Great news for European adults nostalgic for their childhood to return, in a time when floppy disks, audio cassettes and VHS, Banga juice, Treets (now known as M&Ms), and transistor radios reigned supreme.

Since vintage is in fashion, there is no reason for marketing to run away from it. In the same field, we saw a similar situation about a year ago: Burger King and its famous Whooper… Playing into those cherished moments of nostalgia is not a bad idea for brands. It is a way for them to write themselves into the overall history of consumption as well as the smaller personal stories. It presents a form of legitimacy and a proof of proximity to the customer, since personal memories are often linked to consumption moments.

When a brand re-releases one of its old products it’s obvious that they are addressing a specific targeted audience, without having to spend a lot to communicate their message. Very clever. Perhaps even a bit unnecessary for Twix to re-release old commercials, when everyone still has the jingle in their heads. This just goes to show the power of the commercial in traditional media, faced with social media pumped with brand content… Commercial spots have a lasting impact, whereas even the most buzzworthy social media brand campaigns eventually disappear. Who could forget “Heyyy Kool-Aid!” or “The best part of waking up, is Folgers in your cup”? The associated images and sounds are more powerful than the ideas themselves…

This week we also learned that after a 13-year hiatus, Mulder and Scully are rekindling their X-Files roles for 6 episodes, starting next January 24, which seriously makes us question whether there’s also a return of MacGyver in the works… When can we expect retro primetime TV with commercials from the past?

So What ?

Why shouldn’t brands deprive themselves the opportunity to re-release their all-time best products? It’s a simple idea with little risk involved, which could even help attract the attention of people who are unfamiliar with them…

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