For old times' sake

Like other vintage favourites, Kelvinator is on the road to revival. The question is whether nostalgia alone can resurrect brands

- SARTHAK CHOUDHURY

Soham Mukherjee, 29, grew up riding his father's Chetak scooter. Among his fondest childhood memories are standing on its front platform, clutching an ice cream, as the family rode past India Gate — his father navigating it, his mother riding pillion. He remembers the scooter's quirks too: having to tilt it when fuel ran low, and the relentless kicking it took to start.

When Bajaj relaunched the Chetak in an electric avatar in 2020, the memories came flooding back.

Last week, Reliance's acquisition of Kelvinator sparked a similar wave of nostalgia across social media. Vintage ads from the brand's heyday began resurfacing, most notably the one where an old man's dentures chatter when someone opens a Kelvinator fridge.

Known for pioneering home refrigeration in India, Kelvinator's tagline, "The coolest one", was a staple in households during the 1970s and '80s. Now, it's expected to bring strong brand equity to Reliance's expanding consumer goods portfolio.

This isn't Reliance's first brush with a legacy brand. In August 2022, the company acquired Campa Cola for around ₹22 crore. Once a household name, Campa had nearly vanished before Reliance reintroduced it through select grocery channels and soft launches in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

It also bought a 50 percent stake in Sosyo, a Gujarat-based carbonated drink that dates back to 1923.

"Reliance has done well with Campa, a brand that had almost faded into oblivion," says Sandeep Goyal, chairman of Rediffusion. "It also has BPL, and now Kelvinator."

He points to the underlying strategy: "The formula appears to be that nostalgia equals familiarity — a known brand is better than an unknown new one."