Those of you who are familiar with the TV series Life On Mars and its sequel, Ashes To Ashes, will be aware of the programmes’ central conceit: that a police detective from the present day has an accident and wakes up to find him/herself in, respectively, the 70s or 80s. Judging by our feature on the nostalgia industry, that central conceit is itself now out of date.
You can travel back in time just by taking a walk along the aisles of your local supermarket, where you’ll find tins of Heinz baked beans declaring “Beanz Meanz Heinz”, the famous slogan that Heinz ditched more than a decade ago. And you’ll see shelves full of the the original white Fairy Liquid bottles, now relaunched to mark Fairy’s 50th anniversary. Fancy a snack? You can buy a Cadbury’s Wispa, originally launched in 1983 and once discontinued, but now back for good.
Which brings us neatly to music and Take That, who also appear to be very much back for good following their reunion. And they’re not alone. Think of The Eagles, Spandau Ballet, T’Pau, Ultravox, The Specials, ABC... I could go on and on. And it’s not just bands that are back – so are vinyl records and the turntables to play them on.
On the road you’ll see the new retro-style Fiat 500, which recently joined the ranks of new-style Minis and Volkswagen Beetles. At the cinema, we can expect the new A-Team movie later this year, and there’s a new Karate Kid on the way too. Polaroid is even set to reintroduce its instant film camera What will be next? Will we all start riding Chopper bicycles to work? Will Green Shield stamps make a comeback? Or have I perhaps had some kind of accident and no one has told me?
Read The nostalgia boom: Why we're buying into the past.
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