Nostalgia is trending – big time.

It feels like the 2000s all over again: reboots are dominating screens, reunion tours are selling out stadiums, and retro products are flying off shelves. But what’s with all the throwbacks? And how can brands tap into this wave of nostalgia in their marketing? 

Let’s find out. 

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Nostalgia has hit a peak

From Barbie’s resurgence in 2023 to Tamagotchi’s in-store comeback last year, nostalgia has been selling for a while. But now, momentum is at a peak.  

Using Brandwatch Consumer Research, we tracked mentions of nostalgia over time – and they’ve reached a high. In August alone, chatter hit 1.4 million mentions.

The conversation is an emotional one, too. With 44% of emotion-categorized mentions being joyful, 28% evoking sadness, and 15% expressing anger, it’s clear that nostalgia isn’t just a trend – it’s a trigger for complex feelings.

Marketers are leaning into the trend as well. Twilight is returning to theatres this fall, My Chemical Romance are reuniting with a stadium tour, and even a Hannah Montana anniversary is being teased.

The marketing is clearly working, too. Mentions of My Chemical Romance jumped 175% in July alongside recent tour announcements when compared to the previous month. 

Film saga Twilight’s seen a similar surge, too. Online conversation spiked when companion book Midnight Sun was announced to be adapted into an animated series last year, and again following announcements of theatrical rerelease last month. 

Fans are sharing excitement among the fandom and feeling nostalgic about their first screenings years ago. 

Nostalgia moves in cycles. Teens who grew up around Twilight, My Chemical Romance, or other early-2000s cultural phenomenons now have spending power. And brands know it.

Reboots, anniversary tours, and retro products are an opportunity to re-engage audiences – and convert nostalgia into renewed loyalty and sales. For marketers, that makes anniversaries and comebacks a prime opportunity to tie-in themed campaigns.

So, where can brands find these conversations? One hotspot is Reddit. And it's not just in obvious spaces like r/Nostalgia. The biggest conversations happen in r/AskReddit, r/Gaming and even niche communities like r/Pokemon. 

The data shows that nostalgia isn’t confined to one corner of the internet – it’s everywhere, woven into conversations about entertainment, memes, and daily life.

When zooming into these conversations, it’s clear to see why they matter. Take a recent post on r/Millennials for example, where a user asked if anyone still has a CD player in their car. The simple question snowballed into an incredible talking point – 1.2k comments erupted with personal stories and emotional reflections. It shows that nostalgia doesn’t just spark chatter, it fuels deeply engaged conversations. 

For marketers, this makes Reddit a goldmine for understanding how nostalgia plays out in real time, and for finding opportunities to engage with highly invested, emotionally-involved audiences. 

At its core, nostalgia sells comfort. It’s a reminder of simpler times, and in times of uncertainty, this comfort might just be the most valuable currency a brand can offer. The question is: how will your brand use it? 

TL;DR

The short of it? Nostalgia isn’t just a passing trend, it’s a cycle. Consumers that grew up in the 2000s now have the money and motivation to relive well-loved memories – and brands that time campaigns around reboots, anniversaries, or comebacks are seeing the payoff.

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