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Top Marketers Go For Retro Look

  • Reuters, Friday, December 16, 2005 12:34 PM
A growing number of major marketers believe Americans want to reconnect with the past, so they're bringing back old logos, slogans, and mascots in an attempt to cash in on the trend. The list is a long one and includes such national stalwarts as Walt Disney Co., Anheuser-Busch, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken. "People like to bring back the old stuff," said Jack Trout, president of marketing strategy firm Trout & Partners. "These are all classic brands so they have a history... it is sort of reintroducing the brand to a new generation, using the old symbols." Examples include a series of retro Budweiser cans, vintage packaging designs on a new line of cereal bowls from Kellogg Co., and a vintage-inspired clothing line for young adults from McDonald's Corp., featuring the chain's old advertising themes and characters. Trout says reinforcing a brand's history and tradition is useful because it gives corporations a way to stand out from the crowd at a time when the market is being bombarded with cheaper, healthier or newfangled alternatives. "These things stick in people's minds," he said. "Heritage in a category is a very powerful differentiator."

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