Are advertisers stuck in the past?

For decades in Philadelphia the prevailing thought on the Flyers was that they were living in the past. They were trying to recreate their glory teams of the 1970s as the modern game passed them by. Lately, it seems that many major brands and their advertising agencies are taking lessons from those Flyers.

In October of last year, Wendy’s brought back “Where’s the Beef?” in this ad featuring a t-shirt with the popular 80s slogan.

Then I came across these two reports on the same day:

Meow Mix Brings Back Famous Jingle You Never Knew Was Gone

Miller Lite Going Back to Miller Time

So what exactly is going on here? Is there some sort of growing sentimentalism that these companies are trying to capitalize on? Are they more comfortable going with the “tried and true” over breaking new ground? Have they just run out of original ideas? Whatever the reason, they better hope that they have more success then the Flyers have had since they last won lord Stanley’s cup.