How Big Business is Cashing in On America’s Nostalgia Obsession

“Backstreet’s back, alright!” isn’t just a lyric from Backstreet Boys’ 1997 hit, “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” because in 2025, the Backstreet Boys are, quite literally, back. 

The former world-dominating boy band is headlining at the Sphere, Las Vegas’ hottest entertainment venue – the first pop act to do so. The Backstreet Boys’ “comeback” is no accident, but rather tied to one of the hottest trends in mainstream culture right now: nostalgia.

Yes, nostalgia, “a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition,” according to Merriam-Webster, is a mainstay in pop culture right now and can be seen everywhere.

From 2000s movie sequels (Freakier Friday) to plush pendants called Labubus (think Gen Z’s version of Beanie Babies), nostalgia has become a phenomenon…again. 

Gen Zers are even evoking Y2K fashion in the workplace, according to a recent The Wall Street Journal article about the style trend, “partly because they perceive it as a time before technology went too far and the world started moving too fast.”

While nostalgia has previously shown to be a successful marketing tactic (and continues to be), brands must keep a few things in mind if they’re interested in leveraging it properly, but how?

Our newest POV, “From Legacy Pop Acts to Labubus: How Big Business is Cashing in On America’s Nostalgia Obsession,” details the history of nostalgia in marketing and how brands of the past and today have found success with it. We also outline a few key points to keep in mind to ensure your brand is utilizing the trend in the proper way, or even if it’s the right fit for you.

We hope you enjoy this trip down memory lane that you can apply today. 

Download the POV here.