When nostalgia marketing backfires: Gender differences in the impact of nostalgia on youthfulness for older consumers

Abstract

Summary Two studies are conducted to test how consumers respond differently in feeling nostalgic depending on age and gender. Study 1 uses narrative writing tasks to empirically test the effect of nostalgic versus nonnostalgic feelings on youthfulness by age and gender. To increase the external validity of our findings in Study 1, Study 2 replicates it using print ads. The results across the two studies consistently reveal a significant effect of nostalgia on feelings of youthfulness that differs by age and gender. Specifically, older women tend to feel less youthful than older men when nostalgic feelings are induced in both studies, whereas younger adults experience no gender difference. Results also show that these differences are explained by self‐discontinuity between current and ideal body image. Furthermore, we identify that nostalgic feelings in advertising are effective because they generate positive feelings of youthfulness that in turn result in positive attitudes toward the ad.

What Raises Purchase Intention of Customers? An Extension in Perspective of Nostalgic Marketing

“…Males and females are equally affected by nostalgic emotions. Researchers found a gender difference in nostalgic mood after conducting a study (Kazlauske & Gineikiene, 2017;Kim & Yim, 2018). According to the findings of this investigation, the results are different from those of earlier studies.…”

“…The information shown above helps to clarify the relationship between gender and nostalgic feelings, which is important for creating nostalgia marketing campaigns. (Kim & Yim, 2018). Therefore, the following hypothesis has been derived: H1: There is a statistically significant difference in nostalgic emotion among males and females.…”

A bite of nostalgia: The influence of nostalgia in consumers’ loyalty intentions at traditional restaurants

“…Lee (2015) corroborated the claim noting males revealed higher nostalgic attachment to the products in their youth than females. More recently, Kim and Yim (2018) reported that gender moderated the effects of nostalgia on consumers' evaluation. Therefore, based on the above discussion, the following hypotheses are formulated: H13: Gender moderates the relationship between consumers' nostalgia and their perceived value at traditional restaurants.…”

Nostalgic Marketing: A Study on Baby Boomers Generation

“…Previous research has tested how consumers respond differently to feeling nostalgia depending on age and gender. In particular, older women tend to feel less young when feeling nostalgic [2]. Attitudes towards advertising and buying intentions continue to increase significantly in accordance with the increasing level of historical nostalgia [3].…”