Old Songs Never Die: Advertising Effects of Evoking Nostalgia With Popular Songs

Abstract

This article investigates the effects of using auditory cues (i.e., popular songs) to evoke consumer nostalgia in response to TV commercials. Possible moderation of the song familiarity and the lyrics’ relevance to the advertised product are also explored. Experimental results indicate that even if the product and other ad design elements are not related to nostalgic themes, placing an old song in an ad evokes nostalgic feelings among viewers and elicits more positive nostalgia-related thoughts. Additionally, old songs could generate positive emotions and better advertising effectiveness only under the more familiar song and more relevant lyrics conditions.

Notes

^a N: Nostalgia.

^b F value (significant).

*p < .1.

**p < .05.

***p < .01.

^a N: Nostalgia.

^b F value (significant).

*p < .1.

**p < .05.

***p < .01.

This article was accepted by Claude Martin and James Leigh, previous editors of the Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising.