Five brand experiences that took us back to our youth

Vodafone's 1984G Street took visitors back 30 years in time
Vodafone's 1984G Street took visitors back 30 years in time

As The Crystal Maze (finally) comes to life in north London, we reminisce on these awesome activations that transported us back in time to a life of cola sweets, chunky mobile phones, Britpop and Space Invaders.

Vodafone 1984G Street

In January, Vodafone enlisted Wasserman to create an entire street dedicated to the 1980s – the decade the first mobile phone call was made through the brand. The experience included a record store from music streaming service Spotify, a video store from Now TV and 1985 replica of a Vodafone store, which featured chunky handsets from the past 30 years.

Maynards Sour Patch Kids Soda Popz tour

Back in 2013, agency RPM was enlisted to create a retro-themed nationwide experiential campaign for the UK launch of Maynards Sour Patch Kids Soda Popz. The final brand experience was a lemonade stall staffed by retro-styled ambassadors dressed in knee-high socks and roller skates.

Oasis Chasing the Sun exhibition

Shoreditch venue Londonnewcastle Project Space hosted an experiential exhibition for fans of Britpop band Oasis in 2014. The main attraction was a life-sized re-creation of the flat that featured on the cover of the 1994 Definitely Maybe album, where guests could have their photo taken. Attendees could also watch unseen footage of the band and peruse a range of memorabilia, including photographs, lyrics sheets and instruments.

Puma’s Trinomic launch with Ms Dynamite

2013 also saw Puma relaunch its 1990s Trinomic trainer at The Dalston Bunker in east London. The event aimed to take guests back to the decade of hip-hop and crop tops while embracing the brand’s future. The menu included burgers and deep-fried Oreos, and Shy FX got guests dancing on Dalston Roofpark with Ms Dynamite.

Pepsi Max Café 80s

Pepsi Max fully embraced its name drop in Back to the Future Part II by recreating the Café 80s depicted in the film on Future Day (21 October) last year. The installation at the Empire Cinema in London's Leicester Square featured the machine that dispensed bottles of 'Perfect Pepsi', popular 1980s video games such as Pacman and Space Invaders, exercise bikes with the Pepsi Max logo and booths that displayed the American flag.

The experience depicted a nostalgic 1980s film that depicted a nostalgic novelty diner - surely making it the most nostalgic brand experience ever created.

More: Talking all things The Crystal Maze with creative director, Tom Lionetti-Maguire

Experiential Crystal Maze project secures venue from March 2016

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