HERE’S a thought-provoking article that I stumbled upon — “Retro hits and myths” from The Courier-Mail.

The article talks about “newstalgia.” Here’s an excerpt:

Gadgets and gizmos from the last decades of the 20th century are also, with a little spin and innovative campaigns, being sold as both history and future to audiences of all ages again and again. Mickey Mouse pyjamas, Bugs Bunny and Mr Men T-shirts, Strawberry Shortcake cartoons, more superheroes, “classic” cars, rock and pop music (on vinyl, CD or live), furniture and clothing. The list of popular Generation X products and brands, their associated characters that are being recycled and the ideologies they represent is almost endless.

It’s called “newstalgia”: that is, making something old original again by reinventing it for the contemporary consumer. Both a movement and a marketing strategy, it’s corporate gold. It’s not simply the stories and what they symbolise in terms of revisiting the ghosts of childhood past, but the opportunities for some cross-generational bonding that they embody as well that make them so successful.

Playing on the sentimentality of those who grew up with specific characters, brands, values and ideas, while attracting a fresh, young audience who listen to the adults in their lives waxing lyrical about them, businesses are turning shared trips down memory lane into lucrative whimsy. Through retro-chic, they’re giving us a chance to take a stroll down sentimental street and embrace a form of retro-worship while milking a very profitable cash cow.