Why brands are embracing analog photography

Take a picture, it’ll last longer. And it won’t get lost in the cloud.

Demand for analog technology isn’t necessarily new, as millennials with their Polaroids and record players can attest. But at a time when consumers are increasingly seeking out offline experiences, several brands are turning to analog photography as a way to connect.

From hosting photo booths to shipping out disposable and reusable cameras, brands are looking to provide different ways for consumers to make memories and create content without the use of smartphones.

We spoke with marketers from Ithaca Hummus, Grillo’s Pickles, and Pinterest about the ways they’ve tapped into the trend.

Flash in time

Ithaca Hummus kicked off its “Film Eats First” campaign this fall, where it sent around 100 creators disposable cameras to capture their experiences with the brand before sending back for processing. Images from the campaign will be used in the Ithaca Hummus’s holiday posts, according to the company.

The idea for the campaign was inspired by the growing appetite for analog and imperfect content online, Mia Serritella, brand manager at Ithaca, told us.

“Because social media has become so polished, I really gravitated towards the idea of giving creators something that forces you to capture the content in the moment versus giving them a brief, having them edit it, review it, perfect it, anything like that,” she said.

Serritella said creators were given limited instructions about what to capture with the confidence that Ithaca products would naturally make appearances. The campaign, she said, is part of a broader strategy at Ithaca to market around the feeling of interacting with the brand rather than promote specific products.

“It’s the nature of the whole analog trend to not be overbearing,” she said.

It’s also part of Ithaca’s broader efforts to provide consumers with more offline, in-person experiences, including a ceramics class in New York City held earlier this year. Serritella acknowledged that there’s a paradox in hosting an analog experience that’s then documented for social media content, but she said she views it as an effort to achieve balance, rather than to reject technology outright.

“It’s nothing too existential,” she said. “It’s more so like, ‘Oh, we’ve been going too much in that direction.’ Sometimes people want a bit of the other way.”

Tangible memories

In recent months, brands like Prada and Reale Actives have gotten attention for including digital and film cameras in their PR boxes. Grillo’s Pickles has also gotten into the reusable-camera game, working with brands like Polaroid and Camp Snap on limited-edition co-branded merchandise. It’s part of the brand’s broader collaboration strategy that aims to tap into more niche communities, including hobbyist photographers, Eddie Andre, Grillo’s co-founder and VP of branding, told us.

With Camp Snap, Grillo’s created a green “analog” digital camera with no screen and a pickle-crunch shutter sound. Andre said the camera sold out after its debut at SXSW. He credits the success in part to the fact that the camera removes the instant gratification that smartphone photos provide and makes it easier to live in the moment.

“I think people are trying to spend less time on their phone in certain settings and then be surprised with the results,” he said. “That camera is a perfect example of [being able to] still download the photos for your Instagram, but it’s that surprise and delight of, ‘Oh, I forgot I even took this photo.’”

Like Ithaca Hummus, Grillo’s is also focused on providing more analog and in-person experiences that encourage human interaction, Andre said. Perhaps no brand has gone more offline in its IRL strategy this year than Pinterest.

At its Coachella activation earlier this year, Pinterest had visitors lock their smartphones in magnetic pouches, but provided the opportunity to capture lenticular photos that they could mail home to themselves, Sara Pollack, global head of consumer marketing at Pinterest, told us. The intent in limiting smartphone usage was not to villainize photography, but rather reframe the purpose of the medium, she said.

“It’s really just about changing the mindset from ‘Let me use this moment to capture social content’ versus ‘Let me use this moment to experience life, connection, creativity,’” she said. “And I can create a memento to remember that by when I’m done.”