Yell revives 30-year-old ‘Mistletoe’ Yellow Pages Christmas ad

Yell has relaunched its famous Yellow Pages ‘Mistletoe’ ad for Christmas.

The 1992 ad depicts a young boy who is too short to kiss a taller girl under the mistletoe. He then goes to fetch the “good old Yellow Pages” to stand on to allow him to reach her under the mistletoe.

While Yell now exists purely as a digital and online business directory, with the Yellow Pages itself being a thing of the past, the brand is embracing the nostalgia of its past by relaunching the ad this year.

The ad, which the brand says remains a favourite among consumers, will be shown across paid social and streaming channels this festive season.

Yell joins a host of brands that have dug into the past to bring back old assets. Earlier this year, supermarket Morrisons, soft drinks brand Tango, and pickle maker Branston all brought back brand assets for a new campaign.

Everything old is new again: Why are brands resurrecting old assets?

Speaking to Marketing Week about the phenomenon earlier this year, Ryan Wallman creative director and head of copy at agency Wellmark stated that it is “rare” for ads and brand assets to really occupy much headspace for consumers.

“If something really has taken hold in the public consciousness, I think there’s a lot of value in trying to delve into that,” he said.

Research carried out last year by System1 found that the idea of ad wear out is largely a myth, as it found the effectiveness of ads does not tend to decline over time.

Consistency, or indeed, returning to ads of the past can be a fruitful strategy for brands. This seems a particularly popular strategy at Christmas time.

‘Good campaigns wear in’: Why brands that embrace continuity are winning this Christmas

Coca-Cola is, of course, famous for its long-running ‘Holidays are Coming’ slot. The ad has been running since 1995 and consistently outperforms the vast majority of other campaigns in effectiveness rankings.

When re-tested this year Holidays are Coming scored 5.9 stars, the highest possible rating, according to System1’s Test Your Ad platform, which assesses the long-term brand-building potential of ads.

Cadbury and the National Lottery have also brought back ads from previous years this festive season, while Aldi and M&S Food have reinstated familiar brand characters for another outing in their Christmas ads this year.

“Marketers need to realise that re-using ads and running campaigns for longer isn’t just efficient, it’s effective too,” System1 chief customer officer Jon Evans told Marketing Week last year.