Diwali has just gone by, and Instagram is still full of it. The new clothes, the phuljhadi in one hand and a ladoo in the other, the shopping trip with mummy that took four hours. Convosight's trend tracker flagged "Diwali childhood memories" as an emerging moment this month, with 33.2 million views.
And this Saturday, 14 November, is Children's Day. India has marked it on Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday since 1954, and every school WhatsApp group in the country is already planning fancy dress.
So this week, everyone is feeling a little bit of bachpan. For a brand, that is a very good week to show up. Chai ready? Let's talk about nostalgia.
Why nostalgia makes people spend
This one is backed by research. In 2014, Jannine Lasaleta, Constantine Sedikides and Kathleen Vohs published a paper in the Journal of Consumer Research called "Nostalgia Weakens the Desire for Money." Across six experiments, people who were nudged to think about the past were willing to pay more for products than people asked to think about new or future experiences. They were also more willing to give money to others.
The researchers' explanation is lovely. Nostalgia makes us feel connected to other people, and when we feel connected, we hold on to money a little less tightly.
For a small brand, the takeaway is simple. A warm memory makes your audience softer, more generous and more likely to listen. A memory that feels borrowed or fake does the opposite.
Indian brands that got bachpan right
Cadbury gave its own memory a new meaning
In September 2021, Cadbury Dairy Milk and Ogilvy India remade the famous 1990s cricket ad. Same format, same tune, but this time a woman scores the century and her boyfriend runs onto the field to celebrate (exchange4media). People who loved the original got their goosebumps back, and the brand got a fresh story to tell.
Nostalgia works best when it carries the old feeling into a new moment.
McDonald's went back to the same park bench
In March 2026, McDonald's India (North and East) named Sara Arjun its brand ambassador. As a child, she starred in one of the brand's ads, and the new film recreates that same girlfriend and boyfriend banter to promote the ₹119 Buddy Meal (Storyboard18). A whole generation recognised the bench before they recognised the burger.
Your old content is an asset too. That reel from 2019 might turn out to be your best post of 2026.
Everyone tried the retro filter
This year, Open magazine reported that Maggi, Instamart, Libas, Parle Hide & Seek and Haldiram's styled their social content in the look of an earlier decade, riding the AI retro wave. The same piece asked a fair question too. Are brands chasing nostalgia, or just chasing each other?
A grainy filter is easy to copy. A memory that belongs only to your brand is much harder to copy.
Nostalgia on a small brand budget
You don't need a 30-year-old ad archive. You need one real memory and the courage to share it. A few ideas that cost almost nothing:
Your first everything. The first shop shutter you opened, the first order you packed at 2 am, the first customer who came back. People love an origin kahaani.
The product's childhood. If you sell food, show the tiffin it used to sit in. If you sell clothes, show the school uniform era. If you run a cafe, talk about the canteen samosa that started it all.
Your team's bachpan photos. A carousel of your staff as kids, with one line each about their favourite toy or toffee, is the most human post you will make this year.
Let customers tell it. Ask "What did your Children's Day look like in school?" in your stories. Their answers become your content for the week, with their permission.
Keep it real
Nostalgia only works when it is honest. Don't invent a heritage you don't have. Old film songs, cartoon characters and classic ads belong to someone, so use your own music and visuals unless you have the rights.
And on Children's Day especially, keep the hard selling away from kids. Talk to the grown-ups who remember being kids. That is where the warmth is.
Your Children's Day nostalgia checklist
Dig out one real memory from your brand's past, like a first order, an old photo or a founder story.
Collect childhood photos from your team and get their okay before posting.
Post a story question that invites customers to share their own school memories.
Pair the old with something new, like a retro version of a current product or a then and now reel.
Use original or properly licensed audio and visuals, never old ads or cartoons you don't own.
Schedule your nostalgia post for Friday evening or Children's Day morning on Saturday, 14 November.
Track saves, shares and comments, because nostalgia content wins on those more than on likes.
The last word
Every brand was a small brand once, and every customer was a kid once. Put those two kahaanis together and you have a post people will actually feel. Bachpan ka pyaar is the cheapest emotion in marketing, as long as it is real.
If you want help finding your brand's memory and turning it into content, book a chai pe charcha with Catch 24. We will bring the ideas, and maybe some Parle-G for the chai.
Sources: Convosight Moments trend tracker (November 2026); Wikipedia, Children's Day (India); Lasaleta, Sedikides and Vohs, Journal of Consumer Research (2014), via ScienceDaily; exchange4media (17 September 2021); Storyboard18 (14 March 2026); Open magazine (September 2026).
