Since shuttering its stores in 2013 – and again after a short-lived relaunch in 2025 – Zellers has continued to hold a special place in Canadians’ memories. Social feeds are packed with nostalgic tributes to its red branding, in-store diner, and beloved mascot, Zeddy. So, when the company announced a broader reopening for 2026, the excitement was instant.
But the reaction points to a larger question: in a market crowded with discount retailers, why does this brand still command such emotional loyalty?
The answer lies less in today’s retail landscape and more in consumers’ emotional connection to the past. And Zellers is far from the only example. From Polly Pocket’s comeback to McDonald’s adult Happy Meal and the retro aesthetic driving Stranger Things, nostalgia has become a powerful force across industries.
To explore why nostalgia resonates so deeply, and how companies can use it strategically, Ivey Impact consulted June Cotte, Professor of Marketing at Ivey Business School, for this edition of Ask the Experts.
Ivey Impact: What makes nostalgia such a powerful emotion in marketing? Has it always been used as a marketing tool?
June Cotte (JC): Nostalgia typically refers to a yearning for something from the past that we no longer have, or that we can no longer experience. It is typically experienced as a mixed emotion, with both happiness and sadness co-occurring. Research shows that when people feel lonely, anxious, or insecure, they tend to seek comfort in nostalgic memories. With widespread discussion of the “loneliness epidemic” in many developed economies – and with consumers in Canada and across North America facing inflation, political tension, and economic uncertainty – it’s no surprise that nostalgic feelings are especially prevalent today.
In times of negativity, nostalgia tends to resonate strongly in both marketing and popular culture. History offers clear examples: in the 1970s, as the American economy was struggling, television shows set in the 1950’s, such as Happy Days and Laverne and Shirley were popular. Later, as the 1990’s gave way to the dot-com crash and the early 2000’s, That '70s Show was quite popular.
In marketing, nostalgia tends to be most powerful when consumers are feeling negatively about their current state, when they feel dissatisfied or uncertain about the present. It offers an emotional refuge; a way to momentarily reconnect with a time that feels simpler, safer, or more joyful.
Ivey Impact: Why are so many brands leaning into nostalgia right now? Is this a response to global uncertainty or simply a proven way to boost engagement and sales?
JC: Nostalgia is like a warm glow. It’s a social emotion, a nice comfortable memory of the past, even when the memory may not be accurate. I think brands are leaning into nostalgia now because of the negative consumer mood happening in many markets. When the future feels scary, nostalgia is very appealing. Correspondingly, nostalgia is less effective when people are enthusiastic about the future and focused on progress. Nostalgia can be a potent force, as research shows it can increase willingness to purchase, overall consumer spending, and even prosocial behavior such as charitable donations. So, a brand leaning into nostalgia in this environment is likely making a very smart bet.
Ivey Impact: Does nostalgia resonate differently across generations? For instance, how do Millennials’ memories of early 2000s retail differ from Gen Z’s second-hand nostalgia for eras they didn’t live through?
JC: Nostalgia is sometimes for an actual product, service, or brand (such as Pepsi Clear, Zima, or Zellers) but it can also be nostalgia for a time, even (and especially) a time one did not experience. So, I think it does resonate differently across generations. Most of the nostalgia product branding success right now seems to be driven by Gen X and Millennials, who are buying products they consumed in their youth, but Gen Z seems to be driving the thrift store buying trend, which seems to me to reflect a nostalgia for an earlier time. In popular culture, Gen Z is driving viewership of Friends, The Office, and other older shows, even though they were not alive during their initial runs.
Ivey Impact: How can marketers measure whether nostalgia marketing builds real brand loyalty or just short-term buzz?
JC: Measuring and tracking brand loyalty should be an integral part of any marketer’s strategy and tactics. Using a nostalgia appeal is no different in that regard; it needs to move the needle in measurable and sustainable ways. For companies such as Disney theme parks, nostalgia is the brand, in many ways, and it has built sustainable differential advantage in brand loyal Disney parks consumers. For other brands, the nostalgia for a return of an old brand could indeed be short-lived. Once the consumer checks out the “new-old” brand, the experience and the offering need to offer value.
Novelty is rarely enough to maintain loyalty; there has to be a reason for consumers to continue to return. A good example here would be the return of Pepsi Clear in 2015. There seemed to be enough nostalgia and positive memories for this to make sense, but consumers didn’t like the actual product, and the relaunch wasn’t really connected to current consumer needs or trends in the market.
Ivey Impact: Are there other examples where nostalgia marketing has backfired? And what can we learn from them?
JC: Yes, of course. In addition to the Pepsi Clear example, Heinz’s revival of its “crazy-colour” ketchup failed to land; it sparked nostalgia for parents but confusion for kids. Coke also brought back Surge, but the nostalgia consumer wasn’t a high consuming soft-drink consumer anymore. What we can learn from these and other failures is that consumer nostalgia may not always translate into sales, especially if consumer tastes have changed. This is especially the case if the brand is seen as inauthentically trying to capitalize on a general trend for nostalgia that is not closely integrated with the brand meaning. So, when Zellers comes back, many consumers will likely check it out and may come in with nostalgic warm-glow preconceptions. But the products on the shelves, and the entire retail experience, will need to deliver value or consumers will not return.
Ivey Impact: Do you expect nostalgia to remain a powerful tool in marketing, or do you see audiences eventually becoming fatigued by it?
JC: A lot of research shows that consumers form strong attachments to brands in their teens and early twenties. Then, about middle-age there seems to be a nostalgic longing for brands from that time. This seems to be cyclical, and fairly ubiquitous, so it is likely nostalgia will come back, again and again, as a viable marketing strategy.
June Cotte is a Professor of Marketing, and holds the Kraft Professorship in Marketing, at Ivey Business School. Her research, widely published in leading academic journals and featured in top media outlets, examines behavioural questions, such as why and when consumers pay more for ethically produced products, how perceptions of time shape behaviour at work and in leisure, the influence of family dynamics, and consumption issues in gambling. A seasoned educator and former Faculty Director of Research at Ivey, she currently teaches the Marketing Core in the MBA program and the PhD seminar in Consumer Behavior.
