Amul re-purposes old ads leveraging nostalgia wave on social media

As re-telecast of 90s shows makes netizens relive memories, Amul jumps in to leverage the wave by driving conversations with old ads, displaying the relevance of social listening.

It's been a few days since Ramayan and Mahabharat, along with many other shows, made a comeback on television. The shows are being re-aired as an effort to help people navigate the national lockdown and the anxiety brought in by COVID-19 news. It gives older demographics, who are less likely to binge-watch on Netflix, an opportunity to remember the good old days, relive childhood memories.

Viewers have been lauding Doordarshan for re-airing feel good content, creating a wave of nostalgia that is apparent across social media platforms. Taking cue from the keyword here - nostalgia, Amul applied their moment marketing & social listening skills by releasing old ads on television amidst the airing of the old shows. These were also released on social media.

It is an interesting move on the part of the brand as according to a recently launched BARC-Neilson report, the re-telecast of Ramayan was able to garner the highest ever rating for a Hindi GEC show since 2015. Interestingly, the show was highest-rated in urban and megacities.

When you have ads in the inventory that can add value to the experience people are loving at the moment, why not leverage it? It seemed to have worked well for Amul as people have taken to social media to appreciate the move.

Further, many brands have rich advertising journeys, but fail or neglect the archive or digitize the old work. Amul not only leveraged its archive but also re-purposed the content to suit the needs of the digital world.

Also Read: Brands revel in nostalgia as Doordarshan re-airs classics

A few old print ads were also released by Amul on social media. Here, the chosen ones had an intrinsic connect with Ramayan and Mahabharat, in sync with the moment the brand seems to be leveraging at the moment.

With more shows like Khichdi and Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai lined up to be re-aired, it would be interesting to see how brands come up to leverage the moments being generated.

Amul has shown the way and it has certainly worked well for them. The first-movers advantage is apparent but there is still plenty scope for brands to make their mark in unique ways, especially on television, driven by social media.