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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
IMC PERSPECTIVE 9-1
V. Developing the
Integrated Marketing
Communications Program
9. Creative Strategy:
Implementation and
Evaluation
Everything Old Is New Again
Advertising generally prides itself on being ahead of
the curve and helping to create and define popular culture
rather than trying to revisit it. However, recently
many advertisers have been bringing back some of
their classic advertising characters and commercials
rather than looking for new creative ides. The D’Arcy
Masius Benton & Bowles agency brought back the original
“Mr. Whipple,” the stern grocer known for his
famous request, “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin,”
in commercials for the brand. The ads, which ran over a
period of 18 months, resulted in an onslaught of emails
and letters from consumers indicating their
fondness for the iconic character. The Quaker company
brought back the classic “Mikey” commercial for
Life cereal, which first aired in 1972 and ran for 12
years. The spot features a cute three-year-old boy who
hates everything but likes the taste of Life cereal when
he tries it. The director of account planning at the FCB
agency noted that the commercial was successful
because people had a warm and fuzzy feeling about
Mikey, and it is still relevant today.
Other popular advertising characters from the past
have resurfaced recently. Isuzu brought back Joe Isuzu,
the sleazy pitchman with a creepy smile who satirizes
the clichés of car ads, to hawk its Rodeo SUV after he
had been off the air for 11 years. Several animated characters
have also returned to the airways, including the
Jolly Green Giant for Green Giant vegetables and Charlie
the Tuna for Starkist. Music and fashion from the
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
1980s are also back in vogue, so advertisers are bringing
back some of the decade’s iconic TV stars to appear
in their commercials. Alien puppet ALF, whose show was
popular in the late 80s, appears in ads for discount
phone service 10-10-220, while Mr. T, from the hit show
The A-Team, endorses 1-800-COLLECT. Robin Leach, who
hosted the celebrity-watching show Lifestyles of the
Rich and Famous, appears in ads for Courtyard by Marriott
hotels. Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse
University’s Center for the Study of Popular Television,
says that there’s usually a two-decade break between a
TV show and the resurrection of its stars.
Astute marketers recognize they cannot rely solely
on the recognition and nostalgia generated by past
ads and simply bring back the same thing. Thus, advertisers
are seeking to avoid the inherent risks associated
with retrospective marketing, primarily by
contemporizing the classic elements of their ads to
make them relevant to current consumers, especially
young people. For example, Pepsi created an extravagant
commercial featuring pop star Brittany Spears
taking a trip through generations of Pepsi advertising
and revisiting jingles while dressed in period garb.
Although the commercial has a nostalgic tone, it also
has a modern, forward-looking ending as it transitions
to the current image for the brand. Fruit of the Loom
recently brought back the “fruit guys,” four obnoxious
little men who dress up as pieces of fruit and appear in
humorous commercials for the brand of underwear.
However, the new ads indirectly poke fun at the four
middle-aged fruit guys from the old days.
Reviving time-tested advertising characters,
spokespeople, and commercials has long been a popular
advertising tactic among marketers, particularly
during uncertain times, such as the post-September 11
era. Experts note that new creative ideas are often put
aside for the reassuringly familiar. One brand identity
consultant notes: “When we feel less secure, with less
control over our daily lives, we reach out in brands to
connect with a time when things felt better, more comfortable.
It’s about finding security, what we can trust.”
However, marketers recognize that they must recalibrate
the familiar if they want to make their ads relevant
to the modern-day consumer.
Sources: Vanessa O’Connell, “Ad Campaign Again Bears Fruit
Guys.” The Wall Street Journal, July 19, 2002, p. B2; Stuart Elliott,
“Ads from the Past with Modern Touches,” The New York Times,
Sept. 9, 2002, p. C8; Julia Cosgrove, “Listen Up Sucka, the ’80s Are
Back,” BusinessWeek, Aug. 5, 2002, p. 16.
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