Mom jeans and synth-y soundtracks: why AI brands are getting all nostalgic

Captain Obvious will tell you that effective advertising sells a product or service. We all know it’s really about manufacturing feelings.

Today, a perfect storm is brewing for how feelings are sold. Nostalgia has long been a staple tactic. But the rise of AI is adding a new layer. As large language models (LLMs) are increasingly embedded in everyday life, shoppers are showing a growing curiosity for analog devices, such as film cameras, flip phones and low-tech childhoods for kids.

How effective are nostalgic themes with audiences pushing back against technology? Where is the line between authentic brand storytelling and mere opportunism?

One step forward, decades backward

Nostalgia is bridging Generations X and Alpha. The latter is longing for a time they never experienced firsthand. Retro filters dominate social media. Kids are cosplaying in 1990s apparel. Stranger Things became a cultural phenomenon in part because it brilliantly captured the fashion and lifestyle of the 1980s.

In a twist, some of the most innovative tech brands are marketing the promise of tomorrow by celebrating the past. OpenAI is one of the big names embracing a wanderlust for bygone eras with their TV commercials rooted in Americana: fourth-generation South Carolina farmers using ChatGPT; starting an old, beat-up car with a hand from the LLM; a young man using it to surprise his sister with a road trip in an ‘80s Volvo 240 station wagon while Neil Diamond plays in the background. There’s also this commercial featuring another ‘80s hit and tugs at our desire to be young and inspired again.

Anthropic’s advertising for Claude relies heavily on analog-inspired visuals and audio. GenSpark hired Matthew Broderick to spoof his ‘80s cult classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. The commercial shows how AI can help to clear your schedule and give you the day off, without faking an illness by heating up your forehead with a blow-dryer, as our lovable protagonist did decades ago.

AI brands are keenly aware of the perception that Americana is fading quickly in the rear-view mirror because of Silicon Valley. Their response is to bring back whimsical storytelling and anachronistic scenes to romanticize how AI helps you achieve your goal, even if it’s to return to simpler times. And even if you weren’t alive then.

The real appeal of analog

These campaigns are effective because they connect to something genuine in the DNA of AI brands: the offer of support. In doing so, they calm common fears that AI will replace you. Humans still got that main character energy.

Yes, technology is usually marketed with claims of faster performance, more features, seamless connectivity and other things that feel superhuman. But when wrapped in nostalgic branding effectively, technology also allows you to powerfully reclaim feelings that make you distinctly human.

Ultimately, feelings are sold before products. Connection must come before commerce. Nostalgia isn’t truly about longing for mom jeans and your Walkman; it’s about warmth, comfort, innocence. It carries a bittersweet awareness that a moment has passed. It’s a powerful emotional bridge to a product.

The risks of resonance

Of course, nostalgia can backfire. People will notice if a campaign celebrates the ‘good ol’ days,’ but can’t explain how it recaptures what you value about them.

Motorola offered a cautionary example. The company used mid-2000s aesthetics to relaunch the iconic 2004 Razr. It became ‘Razr burn’ because the brand essentially used consumers as beta testers for flawed, first-generation foldable technology. It was a fallacious appeal to the past, and it fell flat. The ‘retro’ phone had poor battery life and a subpar camera. The screen was plastic and fragile. It cost $1,500 at launch.

Lesson learned: outdated innovation cloaked in nostalgia and sold at a futuristic price is a no-no.

Another case study was when Polaroid debuted low-end technology at CES. They slapped the iconic Polaroid rainbow stripe on to budget models of Android tablets, TVs and VR headsets, none of which have any connection to photography or physical film.

The company relied on heritage and brand recognition without delivering products that reflected its identity.

A brand that’s not purely opportunistic justifies its attempts to create emotional attachment among shoppers. Authenticity is built when you give people a meaningful reason to consider your product.

Ask whether your marketing will genuinely create a higher brand recall. Does it explain how it offers a better way to experience the feeling being celebrated?

If you think it could do those things for your brand, rad. Cowabunga. For everyone else, pause the synthwave.