Nostalgia is marketable

After quite some time we had one of the fluorescent lights at home, fuse. Getting to a store and looking at shelves with bulbs, I was prompted to try an incandescent light bulb, priced at Rs. 13 over the fluorescent one priced at over a hundred and fifty bucks. I know fluorescent bulbs consume less energy, emit white light, are less warmer, and remain lit for a far longer time than incandescent ones. Yet, I buy the incandescent bulb.

Screwing it into the socket and turning it on brings back memories. Of a childhood spent under these lights. I can almost live that cozy feeling, of time past. Something warms up inside. I guess that's what's called nostalgia. A feeling that's more relevant to ones advanced in years. I notice brands can evoke the past. This morning listening to Crystal Gayle sing at a show (drastically different from the kind we have now) evoked similar memories. Note, I grew up listening to her. Even the hosts of the show at which she sang, were so polite and measured in their announcements. A far cry from the mutants who host shows today. Russell Brand at the MTV music awards is a case in point.

Brands that can evoke niceties of the past, I believe have a fair chance with consumers advanced in their years. It can be a Cafe, a movie, or maybe even a library. Note, such brands would have to give the present generation a go by, but hey, don't we all get older some time? Sure, incandescent lights may not herald nostalgias for the present Uns. But something will. Tapping into it then, will carry as much meaning as what an incandescent light has, for me.

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