TY - JOUR T1 - How Strong is the Pull of the Past? JF - Journal of Advertising Research JO - J Advert Res SP - 150 LP - 165 DO - 10.2501/JAR-53-2-150-165 VL - 53 IS - 2 AU - Altaf Merchant AU - Kathryn Latour AU - John B. Ford AU - Michael S. Latour Y1 - 2013/06/01 UR - http://www.journalofadvertisingresearch.com/content/53/2/150.abstract N2 - Marketers frequently evoke personal nostalgia in their advertising. To date, scales have been developed to measure the propensity to get nostalgic but not the actual dimensions of personal nostalgia. Results from four studies show that advertising-evoked personal nostalgia comprises four correlated but distinct dimensions: past imagery, positive emotions, negative emotions, and physiological reactions. This multidimensional scale showed a high level of validity and reliability. Moreover, due to careful choice of sampling frames, the study demonstrates a high level of external generalizability. Evaluating nostalgia-based advertising using the study's multidimensional scale may provide marketers with strategic insights for developing and fine-tuning advertising aimed at inducing nostalgia among consumers. ER -