'There are no new steps, only new combinations'. Coming on February 24 @ 7:15PM.

'It was not enough for the medals to be gold, silver or bronze...they had to be from Paris.' The richness is in the details, and all the pieces matter. LVMH Press Release: https://shorturl.at/ahtAX

You're going to see some 'nostalgia-bait' on Sunday. Our team has done a lot of experimentation to learn about the role that nostalgia plays in creative effectiveness & culture at large…so we distilled 3 years of research into 700 words: Nostalgia isn't about a reference...it’s a feeling; or for lack of a better phrase, it’s a vibe. Nostalgia can be familiar...but that familiarity needs to serve as the hook into something bigger. Nostalgia is about connecting with the emotion of a memory...but that memory doesn't have to be a personal one. Nostalgia can provide comfort amongst chaos and uncertainty and insecurity...but too much nostalgia can become a crutch. Most importantly: Nostalgia used to be something that you really experienced, that disappeared & was ephemeral...but culture is continuous & timeless in a world where all things are available to us at any time & all at once. We’ve learned this across auto, travel & luxury, but our best examples are from fashion. Puma made a series of nostalgic films, starting with Clyde Frazier & 'The Suede', one of their iconic shoes, from 2020-2022. You would think that these videos would really play for older consumers...but it actually worked incredibly well for young people. Not because they had an association with him as a basketball player (he played in the '70s) or recognized him for his work as an announcer...but because they loved the style & the story (and vibes..there's that word again). We saw this again with Coach & again with UGG: instead of evoking a memory into some lost or forgotten past, nostalgia creates a portal into a new & exciting future. In this world, when someone sees an interesting ad with Clyde Frazier, they can immediately enter that entire universe on YouTube or TikTok. There's highlights of him playing, snapshots of him at nightclubs, snippets of him visiting the Puma archive. There's a whole world of basketball & sneakers & New York & style & taste, co-created by the brand & the audience. It isn't captive & hidden in some specific era that can only be evoked with the people that were there. It's accessible via stories that offer something fresh (even though it’s old), where nostalgia becomes less melancholic & much more celebratory. Even in sad moments, this availability is a sort of magic -- like when a popular musician passes away, and their discography surges back into the popular imagination in this scaled way that connects those who were there & those just being introduced. For our work, this means that our creative archives & memories can be a source of inspiration to engage with new, younger and unfamiliar audiences, and it turns brand heritage into a massive advantage versus those with less history -- simply because there’s less world to explore. At the same time...an over-reliance on this history creates a disadvantage; after all, history is only useful when we actually learn from it. So when data & insight tells us that nostalgia is effective, then wisdom & experience reminds us to ask why it’s effective & to explore how it manifests for our brand. When it comes to execution, there's more to it than casting someone from the archives. There's more to it than picking a classic song. There's more to it than using a Super 8 effect. These are all hooks that hint at something that's more complex or surprising, things that make us want to hang out & see where the story goes. The nostalgic hook can only be effective when the story actually justifies it -- the juice must be worth the squeeze. Let’s say your brand has the history & the concept is based in memory; then think about ways to amplify that so that the viewer can immerse themselves in whatever world you're creating. Assume the audience will love it; then ask yourself where that first story will take the viewer? If there's nowhere to go...then it's time to pick a different direction. Nostalgia is one way to be effective, but it's not the only way. And if nostalgia is a territory that offers the space to grow & evolve…then don't forget that experimentation is your lighthouse, that style isn't enough, and that the story needs function & emotion to ensure that it's offering real value & utility. How are we going to use it, what does nostalgia need to do and is it actually working? Our job is to build the brand & grow the business, so the effectiveness of nostalgia should be judged by exactly that.