Remember These Brands? You’ll Love Them Even More Now

Try this: Get a group of millennial moms together and throw out the name of something you loved as a kid. (Squeeze-its, anyone?) Strap in, because you’re about to take a trip down Memory Lane. There’s just something about products that were around when we were kids that make us nostalgic for simpler times. But brands can’t survive on childhood nostalgia alone.

The iconic brands of our childhoods have stood the test of time because they continued to innovate and evolve, whether through new product lines or improved formulas. So they’re just as great for our kids as they were for us — maybe even better.

Ivory Soap

As a kid I remember being fascinated by the fact that Ivory Soap floated in the bath. Do you know why it floats? Because when Ivory Soap was invented, people were still bathing in rivers and streams. A floating soap was a huge differentiator in the marketplace of 1879. Today’s families want pure and gentle skin and body care products. Ivory’s new products are perfect for those of us looking for things we can feel good about, free of additives and unnecessary ingredients. Ivory’s Moisturizing Body Wash is designed for sensitive skin and free of dyes, parabens & phthalates, while the Gentle Deodorant is made without aluminum and baking soda with Dead Sea Salt as its odor-fighting ingredient. Ivory’s legendary body care products, made with the same pure and purposeful ingredients as ever, are just as beloved by our families as they’ve been for seven generations.

Polaroid Instant Cameras

Today photos are taken in endless ways. And most of them end up on the cloud, hidden in obscurity. So there’s something retro charming about a camera that takes imperfect photos that you can actually hold in your hands. Unlike the clunky instant cameras we overused as kids, the newest instant film cameras have made some technical improvements while retaining the fun that comes with watching an image slowly develop. And their limitations are part of what makes them cool, as proven by about a thousand blurry-looking Instagram filters. Looks like generations to come will still get to shake it like a Polaroid picture.

Champion

Once the athletic clothing brand for cost-conscious suburban families, somewhere along the way Champion became a high-end fashion item. It’s interesting to see the rebirth of a clothing brand that never really went away. Like Levi’s jeans or Keds sneakers, these classic American brands may come in and out of fashion but they’re always around. And they become cool again with every generation of kids that thinks they discovered jeans and sweatshirts.

Dunkaroos

If you want to hear grown women squeal, bring up Dunkaroos. Perhaps the most beloved snack of the 90s, the epic frosting and cookie duo is BACK. As the official (and hilarious) Dunkaroos Twitter account proclaims: “The year is 1997. Your Tamagotchi is thriving. You just set a new personal best with your Bop It. Your mom packed Dunakroos in your lunch. Everyone wants to be your friend. Life is good.” Ahhh, the good old days are here again.

Coca-Cola

Ok, we know this is certainly not a forgotten brand. But Coke is a brand that endures even after what may be the most notorious marketing blunder of all time. Today’s kids will only know about the disaster that was New Coke if you tell them. When Coca-Cola introduced their new formula in the mid-80s, to say people hated it is an understatement. So the soda brand born in 1892 quickly (re)introduced “Coca Cola Classic.” Coke packaging was marked “Classic” from 1985 until quietly fading out in 2009. Today’s kids will never know the struggle.

These brands have stuck around not just because of good marketing. They’ve endured because they became beloved by the buying public (that’s all of us) and rather than rest on reputations from the past, they’ve continued to innovate. Whether it’s an improved product, a better formula, or a cooler design; these brands go far beyond simple nostalgia. Brands we loved as kids that we can now share with our kids? That’s pretty rad.

Ivory’s new products are designed to be gentle on skin using pure and purposeful ingredients. Learn more about why families have trusted Ivory’s pure and gentle formulas for generations at Ivory.com.