Kodak is using nostalgia to win its way back into your heart
For many of us, or at least those born before the 2000s, Kodak can really bring back memories.
It was the company behind those hunky yellow disposable cameras of the '90s. It was a pioneer in photography and motion picture film, breaking into the industry back in the 1880s.
But with a withering name that's now more nostalgic than contemporary, the 128-year-old company is now vying for its place in the digital world, with a new app and camera phone leading the way.
Kodak is banking on that love of the past, a tactic it's used before and continues to push time and time again.
Kodak's new camera phone, now available across the UK and Europe, has a vintage design with leather lining that clings onto what's retro. While it's all about modern photo technology, it's still very clearly playing off the original Ektra camera from the 1940s.
The smartphone will be available in the U.S. by April, Kodak tweeted.
In another move toward modernity with a retro twist, Kodak's Reel Film app and website gives people a way to search for nearby theater showings of classic movies shot on film rather than digital. The real thing, to many filmmakers, is the 35mm film they say gave a richer textual quality to movies before the revolution of digital-made movies that came with the 21st Century.
The Kodak Reel Film website is a database that seems to offer something unique. Within the search results, there's a handful of recent productions shot on film (including this year's Jackie, with Natalie Portman) and a bevy of cinematically rich classics like Stanley Kubrick's brilliantly gory Clockwork Orange, all with descriptions and, if available, nearby showtimes.
Topics Apps & Software
Marissa is a real-time news intern at the LA office. She has a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Santa Barbara and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. She's a free spirit.
