You probably noticed it during Super Bowl LX. Between plays and halftime, ad after ad pulled you back to simpler times. Vintage film grain. 90s aesthetics. Familiar jingles. Celebrities from your childhood.
It wasn’t random. The biggest brands in the world spent roughly $8 million for 30 seconds of airtime, and they chose to make you feel something specific: nostalgia.
But why? What makes looking backward such a smart move when you’re trying to sell forward? The answer is rooted in psychology, consumer behavior, and some pretty compelling data. Let’s break down what happened during Super Bowl LX and what it means for anyone trying to connect with customers.
Why Super Bowl LX Commercials Used Nostalgia Marketing
Super Bowl LX became one of the most-watched moments in U.S. television history, with nearly 138 million viewers tuning in. Brands didn’t waste that attention. They leaned into nostalgia harder than any Super Bowl in recent memory.
Dunkin’ arguably delivered the most talked-about nostalgic moment of the night with “Good Will Dunkin’.” The spot reimagined the 1997 Oscar-winning film Good Will Hunting as a 90s sitcom, complete with VHS-style formatting and a laugh track. Ben Affleck returned for his fourth consecutive Dunkin’ Super Bowl appearance, joined by Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Jason Alexander, Alfonso Ribeiro, Tom Brady, and Ted Danson. The ad didn’t just reference one piece of pop culture. It collapsed an entire decade into a single 30-second spot and invited viewers to feel right at home in it. Dunkin’ extended the campaign beyond the broadcast with 1.995 million free iced coffees redeemable through its app, vintage merchandise, and even a math challenge tied to MIT as a nod to the original film.
Volkswagen brought back its iconic “Drivers Wanted” campaign with a lo-fi, vintage aesthetic aimed squarely at 90s nostalgia. Instacart shot its commercial on vintage tube cameras for retro disco energy, starring Ben Stiller and Benson Boone as a faux-80s Europop duo directed by Spike Jonze. Even Pepsi used a Coca-Cola polar bear in a blind taste test, playing on decades of brand rivalry and childhood memories.
The pattern was clear. Advertisers weren’t just trying to get your attention. They were trying to make you feel something, and nostalgia is one of the most reliable emotional triggers in marketing.
What Makes Nostalgia Marketing So Effective
Nostalgia isn’t just a warm feeling. It’s a psychological response that changes how people make decisions. Research published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that inducing nostalgia significantly increases consumers’ willingness to spend money. The effect is so pronounced that researchers call it the “nostalgia effect”—essentially, thinking about fond past experiences weakens our desire to hold onto our money.
The numbers back this up. Seventy-five percent of consumers are more likely to buy when ads evoke nostalgia. Consumers are willing to pay up to 15% more for products that trigger nostalgic feelings. And nostalgic ads have a 13-point higher likelihood of going viral compared to advertising without nostalgia.
But here’s what makes it especially powerful right now: 77% of Americans see nostalgia as a source of comfort when life seems uncertain and challenging. Consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since 2014 in January 2026. Economic anxiety, political tension, and a brutal winter weighed heavily on the national mood. In a world that often feels overwhelming, nostalgia offers a mental escape to simpler times. Brands that tap into that feeling aren’t just selling products. They’re offering emotional relief.
During Super Bowl LX, the highest-performing ads leaned into emotionally grounded, human stories using familiar moments to connect with viewers. Lay’s “Last Harvest” topped the rankings with a 93.2 out of 100 score. Ninety-two percent of respondents liked the spot, 90% found it memorable, and 71% said it made them more likely to buy Lay’s chips.
That’s not accident. That’s strategy.
The most interesting part? This works across age groups. Thirty-seven percent of Gen Z consumers feel nostalgic for the 1990s even though many weren’t even born then. Nostalgia extends beyond personal experiences—it can be induced by cultural references alone, making it a powerful tool for reaching multiple demographics at once.
How Brands Executed Nostalgia During Super Bowl LX
The execution varied, but the thread was consistent. Brands used visual cues, music, celebrities, and storytelling techniques that referenced specific eras—primarily the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s.
E.l.f. Cosmetics won YouTube’s AdBlitz competition with a telenovela-inspired ad featuring Melissa McCarthy. The spot referenced Maria la del Barrio, tapping into memories for bilingual viewers tuning in to watch Bad Bunny’s halftime performance.
Budweiser paired its iconic Clydesdale horses with a baby bald eagle to celebrate its 150th anniversary, reinforcing the brand’s heritage and American symbolism. The ad used “Free Bird” as the soundtrack while showing the Clydesdale aging over the years—a multigenerational narrative that appealed to viewers across age groups.
The Backstreet Boys made two appearances during the broadcast. T-Mobile featured the group performing a reworked version of their 1999 hit “I Want It That Way” alongside actor Druski in a coordinated musical number about customer perks. Coinbase brought them back for a karaoke-style rendition of their 1997 track “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).” For a cryptocurrency company that previously made headlines with a bouncing QR code ad in 2022, leaning into nostalgia signaled a deliberate pivot toward accessibility and trust.
Toyota ran a spot called “Superhero Belt” that told the story of a grandfather who convinces his young grandson to buckle up in his first-generation 1997 RAV4 by calling the seatbelt a “superhero belt.” Decades later, the roles reverse. The grandson, now grown, gently reminds his aging grandfather to buckle up in the all-new 2026 RAV4 using the same phrase. No celebrities. No flashy effects. Just a simple, earned emotional payoff rooted in a shared family memory.
Even newer brands found ways to participate. Jeep featured Big Mouth Billy Bass, the novelty toy from the early 2000s, to promote its 2026 Cherokee. They released limited-edition branded versions of the toy, extending the campaign beyond the game.
The strategy wasn’t just about showing old things. It was about pairing nostalgic elements with modern relevance. You’re not trying to relive the past—you’re reinterpreting it in a way that resonates today.
This approach generated massive returns. The Super Bowl generated $550 million in earned media value for brands on social media. Teaser ads achieved 3.5 times higher engagement per post than in-game ads. Brands that built narrative momentum before the game—using nostalgia as the hook—saw significantly better performance than those that only aired during the broadcast.
What Super Bowl Nostalgia Marketing Means for Your Business
You’re not spending $8 million on a Super Bowl ad. But the principles behind what worked for those brands apply at any scale.
Nostalgia marketing isn’t about budget. It’s about understanding what makes your audience feel connected, safe, and motivated to act. The data shows that nostalgia-driven campaigns can increase revenue by 3–5% per campaign cycle, and 90s-themed campaigns specifically led to a 30% increase in brand engagement.
The Super Bowl audience is a true mass media moment. With nearly 138 million viewers, brands need creative that resonates across age groups, regions, and tastes. Nostalgia is one of the few emotional levers that can do that at scale. A cultural reference registers instantly. It creates a shared experience. In an environment where every second counts, instant recognition is powerful.
The question isn’t whether nostalgia works. It’s whether you’re using it strategically.
How to Apply Nostalgia Marketing to Your SEO and Content Strategy
For businesses in NYC and Long Island competing for local attention, nostalgia can be a differentiator. But it has to feel authentic, not forced.
Start by identifying what era or cultural moment resonates with your target demographic. Millennials often connect with the 90s and early 2000s. Gen X may respond more to the 80s and 90s. Even Gen Z engages with 90s nostalgia despite not living through it.
From an SEO perspective, nostalgic content performs well because it’s shareable. Nostalgic content generates emotional reactions at twice the rate of standard marketing material, which leads to stronger engagement signals.
Incorporate nostalgic elements into website copy, blog content, social media, and branding in subtle ways. Reference shared cultural moments that make your audience feel something while keeping your messaging modern and relevant.
Local businesses can tap into community-based nostalgia. Long Island brands might reference iconic summer moments or the evolution of local neighborhoods. NYC businesses can highlight the history of specific boroughs or cultural movements. These touchpoints create emotional connections while supporting local SEO efforts.
Pair nostalgia with present-day value. Nostalgia gets attention. Relevance converts it.
Nostalgia Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
Not all nostalgia marketing works.
The biggest mistake is relying solely on nostalgia without offering modern value. If you’re just showing old logos or playing old music without connecting it to your current offer, you’ll get attention but not conversions.
Another mistake is choosing the wrong era. Nostalgia must align with your audience’s experiences or cultural references. Do your research before leaning into a specific time period.
Timing also matters. Nostalgia performs especially well during periods of uncertainty when people crave familiarity and comfort. That context played a role in why Super Bowl LX leaned heavily into this approach.
Avoid being too obvious. The best nostalgic ads didn’t announce themselves as nostalgia plays. They simply told emotionally resonant stories and let viewers make the connection.
Track performance. Compare engagement rates, time on page, conversions, and shares. If nostalgic content drives results, build on it. If not, refine your approach.
Nostalgia marketing isn’t one-size-fits-all, but when executed well, it delivers measurable business impact. Ads that create strong emotional responses see a 23% lift in sales, according to Nielsen research.
Why Nostalgia Marketing Will Keep Working in 2026 and Beyond
Super Bowl LX wasn’t an outlier. It was a signal. The brands that invested millions in nostalgic storytelling did so because the data supports it, the psychology backs it up, and the results speak for themselves.
Nostalgia acts as an emotional shortcut. It helps brands bypass skepticism and earn attention before asking for anything. Wrapping a product message inside a familiar cultural reference builds trust.
For businesses trying to stand out in competitive markets like NYC and Long Island, nostalgia offers a way to create emotional differentiation. When paired with strong SEO, smart content strategy, and modern relevance, it drives real growth.
The takeaway isn’t that you need to recreate the 90s. It’s that you need to understand what makes your audience feel connected, understood, and motivated. Emotion drives action, and nostalgia remains one of the most powerful emotions available to marketers.
