The Pontiac G8 Spy Hunter Commercial - Niche Nostalgia

One of the classic advertising strategies is to employ nostalgia. There are certain things from the past that a popular culture thinks fondly of, and drawing on these things for your advertisement can create a strong positive association.

The new Pontiac G8 commercial does exactly that. It draws on old-school car racing video game nostalgia. Millions of people played the game Spy Hunter growing up. Those people now have high-paying jobs. They’ve been dreaming their entire lives about having the exact sort of product that Pontiac is offering.

So the commercial works well. It targets a demographic that likes to spend money on performance cars by appealing to a widespread, nostalgic event that is tied to strong positive emotions. That’s a formula for success.