Pop Culture Marketing: The Secret Ingredient to Luxury's New Era

You’ve seen it, you’re consuming it every time you scroll social media: Rhode’s blurry paparazzi shoots & 80’s gym attire, Burberry’s 2000s ‘Love actually’ rom-com vibes and Sabrina Carpenter dancing through a 1960s pastel dreamscape. These aren’t just aesthetic choices. They’re strategies. Though vastly different they all are using the SAME STRATEGY.

More and more, brands are tapping into pop culture memory to build brand identity and it’s working

As Gen Z gets older we can see more and more of their influence in consumer markets, this demographic is key to a lot of existing and new market trends. So what’s the trend among Gen Z at the moment?  According to YPulse (2023), 68% of Gen Z say cultural relevance is a key factor in brand loyalty.

So before you start using the new Tiktok slang or that trending audio to make your brand relevant stop and think for a moment. In a world that’s becoming increasingly diverse and digitally fluent, it’s not enough to simply borrow from culture, especially when some cultures are so closely gatekept. Brands need to show they understand it before they sell it.

The New Marketing Mindset

Pop culture is no longer just reference, it’s a form of deep resonance.It offers brands a shortcut to emotional connection.

Whether it’s through retro visuals, iconic moments, or music cues that evoke collective memory, these choices say: we see you.

But there’s a fine line between smart marketing and shallow mimicry. As audiences become more socially and culturally aware, brands are expected to be intentional. Referencing nostalgia without purpose or context can feel performative—or worse, exploitative. This especially seen with the rise of Gen Alpha in the consumer space.

So, What Makes It Work? & More importantly, how can you use it?

Look at how Rhode turned early-2000s tabloid aesthetics into a statement on beauty culture. Or how Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet campaign bridges 1950s visuals with a distinctly 2020s sense of irony and self-awareness.

Gucci and Adidas’s collaboration saw Retro Reimagined, the campaign leaned into 70s & 80s nostalgia with grainy visuals, tracksuits, and vintage flair. It wasn’t just fashion—it was cultural memory wrapped in luxury.

Burberry? They leaned into British heritage and the grainy charm of films like Love Actually and The Holiday, merging luxury with heartfelt storytelling.

Miu Miu’s viral micro mini skirt was more than a product—it was a full Y2K movement. It dominated TikTok, editorial shoots, and became the fashion moment of 2022.

These campaigns hit because they don’t just use culture—they participate in it.

But Be Careful…

The more diverse and educated your audience becomes, the more careful you have to be. Referencing a cultural movement or aesthetic means understanding its roots. It means asking:

• Does this align with my audience’s values?

• Am I contributing something thoughtful?

• Or am I co-opting something I don’t fully understand?

This is especially important when marketing in 2024 and beyond. Inclusivity is no longer optional—and performative gestures are easy to spot (and cancel).

One of the best examples of getting this right? Fenty Beauty.

When Fenty launched, it didn’t just fill a gap in the beauty industry—it reshaped it. By offering 40+ foundation shades from the start, it highlighted the long-standing exclusion of Black and brown consumers in beauty marketing. But it didn’t stop there. Fenty used cultural touchpoints that had been historically ignored by the luxury industry, embracing Black womanhood and Gen Z voices unapologetically. It didn’t tokenize—it centred those audiences.

Need another example? Rare Beauty.

Rare Beauty has set a new standard not just with tone and aesthetic, but with intention. The brand’s packaging was designed to be accessible to people with limited hand mobility, a nod to inclusivity that goes beyond visuals. Plus, Rare channels a portion of its revenue into mental health initiatives through the Rare Impact Fund, proving that brand values can, and should, extend beyond product.

It proved that inclusivity isn't just a box to tick, it’s a business strategy. And one rooted in culture, truth, and community connection.

So when brands today play with nostalgia or reference cultural aesthetics, they need to ask: Are we doing this to look relevant or to be relevant?

The GKE MEDIA Perspective:

Pop culture marketing can make a brand if done with care.

At GKE MEDIA, we guide clients in turning cultural relevance into brand power. That means:

• Leveraging nostalgia with intention

• Honouring identity and storytelling

• Designing strategies that resonate across audiences

We don’t chase clout. We build connection.

Because when done right, pop culture isn’t just marketing—it’s legacy.

Want to build something that feels both fresh and familiar? Let’s chat.