Nostalgia marketing has begun. This is not about perfume, but the longing for home and the past that poet Jeong Ji-yong evoked with the line, “How could I forget it, even in my dreams?” Women in their thirties are embracing cute lingerie styles associated with women in their twenties, while technology has brought a beloved star who died more than a decade ago back before his fans. Amid the recession, businesses are drawing on memories of “those days” to persuade consumers to open their wallets.

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# The Days That Made Our Hearts Race

The film ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ follows a man born with the appearance of an 80-year-old who grows younger as time passes. By the time he is over 50, Benjamin looks like a man in his late twenties. His longtime love envies him. For her, youth belongs to “those days” more than 20 years in the past; for Benjamin, it is the present. Her longing for that time is one example of the nostalgia behind today’s marketing.

Office worker Min Jin-a (29) described watching a video released online on the 13th: “My heart was pounding so hard I couldn’t speak. Seeing the singer I adored as a girl—someone I’d almost forgotten after graduating and starting work—made me miss both him and my younger self. I remembered joining his fan club, following him around, shouting and cheering.”

The singer she meant was the late Kim Sung-jae of the hip-hop duo Deux. The one-minute advertisement she watched combines footage of Deux performing “As I Told You” in 1997 with backstage scenes of Kim changing clothes. European jeans brand Replay chose the late singer as the face of an advertisement due out next month. The ad was completed with computer graphics after the company obtained permission from Kim’s mother, who holds the rights to his likeness.

.# Reaching Consumers Through Emotion

Arnab Basu, a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center, defined “nostalgia marketing” in a recent marketing report this way: “Young people live on dreams. When they grow older, they live on memories. That is why nostalgia marketing works.” His observation helps explain Min’s response to the video of Kim Sung-jae.

“Nostalgia marketing is one form of emotional marketing that companies are using in response to the global downturn,” said Lee Jeong-min, a director at trend-information company PFIN. “When the recession leaves people feeling cold and withdrawn, an emotional connection is the most effective way to reach them. Evoking nostalgia has become central to that approach.”

Missing Dorothy, the lingerie brand launched by actress Lee Hye-young in 2004, makes nostalgia part of its identity. Its name combines Dorothy, the girl in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ with “missing,” expressing a longing for earlier days. The brand also draws on Lee’s image: approaching 40, she maintains a youthful figure and enjoys youthful styling. “The designs are aimed at women in their early twenties, but the response has been much stronger among women in their late twenties, thirties and older,” said Missing Dorothy CEO Moon Young-woo. Last month, the brand recorded sales of 4.2 million won per minute through CJ Home Shopping.

“During economic booms, retro styles that simply bring an old look into the present become popular,” Lee explained. “During downturns, businesses more often appeal directly to people’s feelings by making them miss the past itself.” He added, “People remember the good things from earlier times much more clearly. Familiar things with positive associations are a safe choice for companies that cannot afford to develop new campaigns during a recession.” Nostalgia marketing may thus comfort consumers unsettled by the downturn while easing financial pressure on companies and brands.