Nostalgia Narrative: A Review on Emotional Appeals and Consumer Behaviour
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64137/31079423/IJEBMR-V2I2P122Keywords:
Nostalgia Marketing, Consumer Behaviour, Self-Continuity, Brand Recall, Price SensitivityAbstract
This review examines how advertising leverages personal and collective nostalgia to drive consumer behavior, brand loyalty, and market engagement. Synthesizing historical timelines and recent empirical studies from 2022–2025, the text shows that nostalgic appeals enhance memory retention by 1.8x and raise repeat purchase intent by 12%. The cognitive pathways convert retro stimuli into favorable brand attitudes via mechanisms like self-continuity and social connectedness. However, performance boundaries exist: 51.1% of consumers exhibit strict price sensitivity when assessing high-priced nostalgic products. Ultimately, nostalgic marketing acts as an emotional anchor that effectively bridges generation gaps.
References
[1] Amjad Ali et al., “Impact of emotional advertisement on consumer decision making for ice cream brand in Pakistan,” International Journal of Management,vol. 11, no. 10, pp. 320-338, 2020. Doi: 10.34218/IJM.11.10.2020.032
[2] A. Anwer, M. Farooq, S. Minhas, and H. R. Butt, “The impact of emotional advertising on consumer buying behavior for apparel products in Gujranwala,” ResearchGate, 2021.
[3] A. Ashra and A. Kamra, “Emotional advertising—Connecting brands with people,” in International Conference Proceedings, 2017.
[4] V. Crespo-Pereira, E. Sanchez-Amboage, and M. Membiela-Pollan, “Nostalgia, retro-marketing, and neuromarketing: An exploratory review,” ResearchGate, 2022.
[5] Ginger Media Group, “History of advertising in India: Tracing the evolution,” May 16, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://gingermediagroup.com/blog/history-of-advertising-in-india-tracing-the-evolution.
[6] F. Hansen, S. R. Christensen, and S. Lundsteen, “Measuring emotions in a marketing context,” ResearchGate, 2006.
[7] S. Jaiswal, “Attitude towards emotional advertisements,” All India Management Association, 2021.
[8] Q. Kamran and D. A. Siddiqui, “The impact of emotional advertising on consumer buying behaviour for home appliance products in Pakistan,” ResearchGate, 2019.
[9] S. N. Kanagarathinam, R. Lalitha, and C. S. G. Krishnamacharyulu, “Use of humour in insurance advertising,” The Journal of Insurance Institute of India, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 65–69, 2017.
[10] A. Khan, “How nostalgia is redefining advertising strategies in India,” Pitchonnet, Mar. 18, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://www.pitchonnet.com/pitch-feature/how-nostalgia-is-redefining-advertising-strategies-in-india-39351.html.
[11] H. Koh, “Did you say [obscenity] forget about it?: Examining the joint effect of nostalgia appeals and product types on receivers’ purchase intention based on Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM),” Journal of Promotion Management, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 45–76, 2023, doi: 10.1080/10496491.2022.2108187.
[12] A. Kumar, A. K. Yadav, R. Srivastava, P. Kumar, B. Bharti, and B. P. Kushwaha, “Impact of ad-evoked nostalgia and intensity of nostalgia on intention to buy fashion products,” 2025.
[13] H.-C. Lin and E. S. T. Wang, “Effects of nostalgic appeal in advertising on older adults’ food product evaluation,” Current Psychology, 2025, doi: 10.1007/s12144-025-08106-1
[14] K. Modhavadiya, H. D. Ahuja, and H. Somani, “The role of emotional advertising in shaping consumer buying intentions,” International Journal for Multidisciplinary Research, 2025.
[15] R. Musa, “The impact of emotional advertising on consumer decision making and brand perception,” IJHSR, 2025.
[16] M. Nadeem, S. Irshad, and R. Naseer, “Emotional advertising and impulsive buying: A study of mediated paths and gender moderation,” ResearchGate, 2025.
[17] G. M. E. Ouf, “Nostalgia using in advertising campaigns,” Aaciaegypt.com, 2021.
[18] N. Pathirana, A. Andrew, and T. Sellar, “Impact of emotional advertising on consumer buying behavior in Ampara District,” International Journal of Research, 2023.
[19] V. Rasika and T. S. R. V. Janani, “A study on the impact of nostalgia marketing on consumer behaviour,” International Journal of Engineering Technologies and Management Research, vol. 12, no. 4SE, pp. 30–39, 2025, doi: 10.29121/ijetmr.v12.i4SE.2025.1580.
[20] B. Schwartz, “How nostalgia weaves magic in advertising,” Exnoweb, Jan. 13, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://exnoweb.com/blog/how-nostalgia-weaves-magic-in-advertising/
[21] E. Srivastava, S. S. Maheswarappa, and B. Sivakumaran, “Nostalgic advertising: Managing ambivalence to make it work,” Great Lakes Institute of Management, 2019.
[22] E. Srivastava, B. Sivakumaran, S. S. Maheswarappa, and J. Paul, “Nostalgia: A review, propositions, and future research agenda,” Journal of Advertising, vol. 51, no. 5, pp. 613–632, 2022, doi: 10.1080/00913367.2022.2101036.
[23] A. Sunil, “The impact of emotional advertising on consumer purchasing behaviour,” International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology, 2025.
[24] Y. Zhang, H. Zhou, and J. Qin, “Research on the driving factors of collective nostalgia and the impact of collective nostalgia on national brand consciousness,” International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 24, Art. no. 16738, 2022, doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416738.
[25] The Economic Times, “Advertising – Definition.” [Online]. Available: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/advertising?from=mdr
[26] S. Sharma, “Television Advertising: Meaning, Working, Types and Future,” GeeksforGeeks, Jan. 23, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/marketing/television-advertising-meaning-working-types-and-future/
[27] Camp House, “Emotional Advertising.” [Online]. Available: https://camphouse.io/blog/emotional-advertising
[28] We Are Testers, “Emotions and Effectiveness in Market Research.” [Online]. Available: https://www.wearetesters.com/en/market-research/emotions-effectiveness/
[29] iMotions, “Nostalgia in Marketing.” [Online]. Available: https://imotions.com/blog/insights/trend/nostalgia-in-marketing/
[30] I. Promma, “The Influence of Emotional Marketing on Consumer Decision Making in the Context of Electric Vehicle Advertising,” International Research Conference Proceedings, 2025. [Online]. Available: http://icbtsproceeding.ssru.ac.th/index.php/ICBTSMADRID2025/article/view/1562/1532
