Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: This study focuses on the social side of everyday nostalgia.Through a close examination of one advertising campaign, better understanding is sought of how everyday nostalgia works and how group-based and individual nostalgia interlock in advertising.In other words, the study demonstrates how advertising can at the same time invoke shared conceptions of nostalgic past and appeal personal nostalgic memories.The data for the present study consist of printed advertisements and virtual material (advertisement videos) of a Finnish advertising campaign called "Back to the moments" (2014).The material is analysed with Barthes' semiotic approach (denotation, connotation and myth) in combination with Dyer's (1982) classification of social aspects in visual images.The investigation shows that, in order to evoke nostalgia, the campaign made use of three idealised images: childhood, motherhood and home, concepts charged with emotions and value.These are widely shared and part of collective memory.The study demonstrates that it is possible to approach nostalgia as socially constructed and shared meaning reflecting present values, needs and desires.It also contributes to a better understanding of the social nature of nostalgia.The study further develops Meyers' (2009) suggestion of combining the concepts of collective memory and nostalgia in analysing advertisements.
Source: Työväentutkimus Vuosikirja
Author: Eemeli Hakoköngäs
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2601496062