Polaroid: the iconic instant camera brand is back with new designs. Steeped in nostalgia will this analogue brand be relevant in our digital world? As a fan of the original, I bought one and here are some thoughts.
“Shake it like a Polaroid picture” may have been a catchy lyric in the 2003 song Hey Ya but it led to Polaroid issuing a statement soon after its release warning the public to in fact not shake their Polaroid pictures. Unlike the early days when shaking helped the photos dry, in the device’s more modern incarnations this would only damage them. However, “lie flat and stay still like a Polaroid picture” doesn’t quite hit the note Outkast were after for their song.
But the fact that everybody thinks to shake it just shows how iconic this retro brand is. Invented by American scientist Edwin Land, the first Polaroid instant camera was launched in 1948. By including the operations of a darkroom inside the film itself, shortly after a photo is taken it emerges and develops before your eyes. It’s chemistry but seemed a bit like magic.
Edwin Land spent 43 years at the helm of Polaroid Corporation, successfully steering the ship as it rode the waves of its heydays. But by the time Hey Ya had released its song the company was on a downward spiral towards bankruptcy in 2008. This was blamed on the company’s senior management team not reacting to the digital revolution and its ability to digitally capture, manipulate and store photos.
However, instant cameras never went away completely with other brands manufacturing their own versions as well as portable photo printers that hook up to a smart phone. And although Polaroid discontinued almost all of its instant film products, the brand never went away completely. Under the Impossible Project based out of The Netherlands, it was still producing new instant films for old SX-70 Polaroid cameras. However, following a rebrand to Polaroid Originals in September 2017, it announced that it was to relaunch its iconic instant camera products. And then in March 2020, now branded as just Polaroid, it launched its first range of cameras.
With fond memories of growing up with Polaroid cameras, this announcement immediately caught my attention. And with a sense of nostalgia I bought one for Christmas and have had fun trialling it over the holidays and during lock down.
First impressions are that in design terms the form factor has been successfully executed in that it maintains similar hallmarks to the previous version. It’s almost toy-like and comes in a range of colours to suit your particular palette. I went for light blue. My feeling is that the design team have done a great job in maintaining the brand presence of this iconic consumer product.
There is immense pressure on retro brands that reimagine such iconic, much-loved products. Their design teams are weighed down by the expectation of fans and the challenge of innovating yet respecting the brand’s rich heritage. The new Polaroid camera has the retro styling yet does include new capabilities that the originals didn’t have like the integration of Bluetooth connectivity, that not only allows for remote shutter control via a smartphone but also several new shooting modes.
But the question is is it meaningful and relevant for today’s users? Or is it just appealing to those of us of a certain generation who have a hankering for the good ol’ days?
Polaroid argues not and that users today are after authentic, meaningful experiences away from screens where we just click, filter, swipe and store. In much the same way that vinyl has had a resurgence in recent years, there is something irreplaceable about holding, feeling and experiencing a physical product. However, interestingly, my three teenage kids were really interested in the new Polaroid as it was being unboxed but it didn’t hold their attention for long as they soon drifted off to focus on something else.
While Polaroid may have shaken off the Outkast song (although not completely as the instructions still come with a warning not to shake the photos) and have instead adopted a Fatboy Slim lyric of ‘Right here, Right now’. Its branding focusses on creating beautiful, life-enriching tools to capture those meaningful moments in life.
I’m certainly interested in Polaroid’s come back and have been enjoying its camera, but is it through nostalgic-tinted glasses? Is it relevant today or will it be yet another here today gone tomorrow product? And will we see a return of more analogue technologies that experienced a battering in previous times?