McDonald's brings back classic Grimace mascot: How brands can tap into nostalgia marketing

Recently, McDonald's made waves with Millennials when it collaborated with Krool Toys on an exclusive video game, to celebrate the 52^nd birthday of its purple biped mascot Grimace. 

Grimace is a McDonald’s fan-favourite known for his signature fuzzy purple look, friendly and playful personality, love for shakes and is said to come from Grimace Island, according to a statement by the brand.

Available from 12 June, the new video game allows users to immerse themselves in Grimace's world as he races around classic McDonald's birthday scenes to find his friends, such as Birdie and Hamburglar, all in a quest to cut his birthday cake. The video game is a 2D retro style game with controls similar to that of a Game Boy Colour that can be played on a computer or mobile phone.

Don't miss: McDonald's taps into childhood nostalgia with new Grimace-themed video game

The tactic, nostalgia marketing, is one that has been done time and again as brands attempt to draw in their millennial consumer base by triggering an emotive response. We've seen it done multiple times such as when Mamee Monster released limited-edition retro design packs in commemoration of its founder, Datuk Pang Chin Hin’s passing in November last year. The release is part of the brand’s new campaign titled "The Mamee monster’s world of Nowstalgia". In a statement to the press, the company said the campaign is aimed at leveraging childhood nostalgia and turning it into something modern and new while retaining the charm of Mamee’s old monster packs.

An ode to the 1970s version of Mamee Monster’s packaging, the brand plastered the iconic Mamee Monster on its family pack bags in March. Together with the snack, the packs also came with stickers as a nod to the surprise items Mamee Monster used to include in its packs.

So why exactly does this powerful tactic do well and what does it take for a brand to pull it off effectively? The answer it would seem lies in the fact that it has the ability to create positive and emotional feelings within customers which is key to its success, according to Jose Raymond, the director of strategic advisory at PRecious Communications. 

The idea is to use familiar ideas, songs or products from the past and evoke fond memories among users, he noted. "Brands do this to reach out to a specific target audience and there is every reason for them to do so. This set of audience would be older now and would in all likelihood be a lot better off than 30 years ago. This means a much stronger spending power," he said. 

If we have an emotional attachment to something, there is a much stronger chance that we will act.

"If there is something which we are familiar with from our past, when we were growing up, which for some reason we have an emotional attachment with, we will react positively when we see it again, or hear it again. That's psychological, and nostalgia marketing is tugging at emotional and psychological strings," Raymond added. 

Agreeing with him, Alvina Seah, the managing director at GOVT noted that the tactic's success is also largely in part that we are living in a time where machines and tech have driven very impersonal touches. "Evoking emotions from the past creates fond memories that tends to make people smile," she said. 

On the marketing front, Sidhanth Gopishetty, regional general manager of marketing, customer engagement and communications of Toys"R"Us Asia, said nostalgia marketing, when executed well, reminds customers of happy moments and memories from their childhood.

"It’s almost like getting access to a time machine for a brief moment. It helps brands establish two key points including brand credibility, establishing emotional connection as it reminds audiences of ads that they grew up with. As for Gen Z, nostalgia marketing gives them a glimpse of the world before them when society, fashion, trends and language were all different," he added. 

Gen Z's and nostalgia

Considering that nostalgia marketing is all about adhering to the past, one would think that employing it might alienate the large consumer base of Gen Z's who will make up a quarter of APAC's population by 2025, according to trend forecasting company WGSN. However, that might not be the case. In its study, WGSN revealed the five pillars and priorities specific to Gen-Z consumer behaviours in Asia-Pacific.

These are self-definition, which allows them to experiment and define who they are, intentional wellness where they take charge of their holistic wellbeing, work 3.0 where they push back against traditional 9-5s, consumption and money where they invest time and effort in their financial literacy and finally, Pan-Asian creativity where there is a newfound appreciation for tradition is driving a creative renaissance characterised by nostalgia and kitsch.

With nostalgia being a key focus and 90s and 80s trends, such as low-rise jeans and the Y2K movement regularly popping back up on social media, it seems like there is little chance the tactic will alienate any particular generation.

The cons of nostalgic marketing

While the use of nostalgic marketing certainly is widely adopted by international brands to connect with the deepest souls of consumers, it certainly has its drawbacks. With more focus on diversity & inclusion, political polarities, rise of the woke culture, risk of fake news and many topics that were considered “okay” in the past are delicate and controversial in todays society.

Toys"R"Us Asia's Gopishetty added that brands must evolve with times and be cognizant of current day topics and social affairs. "Just because a campaign was successful in the past, it does not mean it would resonate with todays audiences. So brands should be selective and carefully review the social, political and economical landscape they’re operating in before bringing back nostalgia campaigns," he added.

In fact, it is critical that a brand remains relevant to today's values even while it is engaging in this tactic, according to GOVT's Seah who added that one must understand what motivates consumers and what kind of technology they will be into and present on. 

Agreeing with her, Edwin Yeo, the general manager at Strategic Public Relations Group noted that one must also analyse if nostalgic elements really are as "sticky" for a brand and if it can actually create new context for it, lest they run the risk of alienating even its older audiences. 

"Some old fans might even be lost when old characters are given a fresh take, often claiming the loss of the history of the character with each new iteration," he said, noting that fundamentally, one has to measure using nostalgic marketing by net gain. 

 "Bottom line, the biggest impact nostalgia marketing can have is the conversation it can create, across all different age groups. The fact that we're talking about this right now is evidence of that," he concluded. 

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