Extending the Reminiscence Bump Effect in Nostalgic Advertising from the United States to South Korea

Authors

  • Ilyoung Ju Bowling Green State University
  • Eunjin (Anna) Kim University of Southern California
  • Susan Bluck University of Florida
  • Jong Woo Jun Dankook University

Keywords:

nostalgic advertising, the reminiscence bump, cultures

Abstract

Research has suggested that advertisements framed in reference to the reminiscence bump (i.e., adolescent and early adulthood years) are more effective than advertisements that focused on other periods within a U.S. sample. The current study examines whether the bump effect varies across culture (the United States vs. South Korea). Using a 3 (time frames: bump advertisements, non-bump past advertisements, present-focused advertisements) × 2 (nations: the U.S. and South Korean participants) between-subjects design, our results showed that the effectiveness of the reminiscence bump-framed advertisements was not affected by nations. Across the United States and South Korea, the reminiscence bump-framed advertisements elicited a greater feeling of positive nostalgia, more positive attitude toward the advertisement, and stronger purchase intention. In addition, the positively evoked nostalgia mediated the effect of the bump-framed advertising on both ad attitude and purchase intention.

Author Biographies

Ilyoung Ju, Bowling Green State University

Assistant professorSchool of Media and Communication

Eunjin (Anna) Kim, University of Southern California

Assistant Professor Strategic Public RelationsAnnenberg School for Communication and Journalism

Susan Bluck, University of Florida

ProfessorPsychology Department

Jong Woo Jun, Dankook University

ProfessorSchool of Communication

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Published

2022-09-25

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Section

Articles