Have you ever noticed that advertising goes around in circles…we all know it does.  If you look back all the way back to the 20’s and track advertising concepts and styles you will start to see trends coinciding with the economic conditions of the era. More to the point, with every economic down turn you see a return to family values and wholesomeness and how those characteristics relate to the product or brand being advertised.  Case in point the “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” campaign

that débuted February 12, 1971, or how about the “Mean Joe Green” Coke ad of 1980

and Kellogs,

or Greyhound.

All of which debuted during economic recessions.

In difficult economic times people want good news.  They want that feel good feeling. They need a friendly brand they can lean on and feel good.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see updated versions of “The Waltons”, “Family Ties” or “America’s Funniest Home Videos”…oh wait that one is still on air!  Of note though, all were created when a down-turned economy left folks wanting to feel better.

So what does it mean?  It means we should be ready for lots of heart-warming family value spots and scheduled programming that reflects the times. It also means that if your marketing is not paying attention to what is going on in the typical family then you might be missing out.

SW

Scott Westerlaken

With over 25 years of award winning experience in marketing, television commercials, film, video, communications, web, radio, print, and events, Scott has the ability to maintain focus on the big picture and offer a wide range of solutions appropriate to the clients message and budget. He has been recognized with dozens of awards in business, communications, and filmmaking from around the world. For the client, this means a truly unique balance of hands on technical knowledge and high level strategic experience that always leads to unique and creative solutions.