Product boxes, old ads, outdated signs, ancient packaging. These are the marketing materials that served their purpose once upon a time.   But their usefulness isn’t over – they are now becoming pieces of content that social media users love and share.  Old fonts, antique pictures, even the glass bottles of yesteryear are deeply appreciated by design geeks and fashion enthusiasts.

 

Brands know how much thought and care goes into their packaging to make sure products look fresh, exciting, and appealing.  What appealed to customers in 1985 isn’t the same as what appeals in 2012, so obviously brands have to change how their products look to appear fresh and modern.

But with the interest in retro style and nostalgia, as well as fashion designers, interior designers, and artists getting inspiration from decades past, packaging and signage from the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s have a new sparkle about them.  This is a natural interest for the Pinterest community; there are hundreds of pins categorised as “vintage packaging” or “old signs.” There are some really gorgeous examples from Sainsbury’s and Sprite.

Brands with a strong heritage going back several decades can set up a great Pinterest board just by posting photos of their old packaging, signs, ads, logos, and letterhead.  This is fantastic content that could be pinned, liked, and shared by millions of users.  Could there be an easier way to get a brand name in front of a huge mass audience and create positive brand feeling?  Brands can also engender positive feeling by recognizing users who are pinning great stuff from their own collections or things they’ve found in their internet travels. It becomes a nice way to acknowledge the relationship customers have with their products. It’s quick, easy, and a way to create positive sentiment without a great deal of cost or work.  It’ll be great to see more brands use their heritage in this way.

Shana Pearlman is an Account Manager at Jam.