To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Sleep Country Canada has launched a campaign heavy with nostalgia to transport customers back to 1994, when the specialty sleep retailer was founded. The campaign includes the return of Sleep Country co-founder Christine Magee, who has been the face and voice of the brand’s commercials for years.

Nuno Bamberg, senior VP of brand and marketing for Sleep Country Canada, tells strategy that the brand’s 30th anniversary “became a perfect marriage of that brand-building moment and a promotion opportunity.”

“This is the first time we’ve gone full nostalgia,” Bamberg says. “I think there’s a culture moment with the ’90s happening. A year ago, when we started to plan this campaign, it made sense for us to roll back the clock and show Canadians the journey we’ve been on together.”

Sleep Country launched its brand love spot to celebrate its 30th anniversary in August. The brand is using the videos as more than simple promotional tools, Bamberg adds.

“This brand-building effort, in combination with the promotional strategy of this campaign, is also keeping us top-of-mind for consumers who may not be in the market for a mattress today, but are very fond of our brand [and] are aware of our brand. We feel confident that, with all the brand love, the nostalgia, the humour we’ve injected into this campaign, and Christine’s cameo, that we will remain top of mind to all Canadians,” he explains.

The brand used research from Leger to help inform its campaign. “It was clear to us, through this research, that today about one-third of Canadians are telling us they’re actually sleeping worse than they were this time last year,” Bamberg says. “We also learned that their beds were not an important part of their lives. They didn’t connect the outcome that the right sleep system can provide.”

Now in its second phase, Sleep Country’s digital promotional campaign started with the anniversary spot in August and will continue on television and connected television with a 360 campaign this fall.