The Power of Nostalgia

Comcast, a telecommunications company, has released a new video from its TV and internet service provider, Xfinity, to fuel its holiday campaign with the power of nostalgia.

The video encourages people to “reconnect for the holidays,” bringing E.T. back home to visit his old friend Elliot – who is all grown up and has two kids of his own. They celebrate a white Christmas, introduce E.T. to the internet, have fun with VR goggles, stream a holiday movie together and bike through the sky. Elliot’s kids now help E.T. find his way back home, this time going back to a family of his own.

To the keen eye, the video is also complete with several hidden references to the movie – 25, to be exact. From Elliot’s old sneakers to a Raggedy Ann doll and Reese’s Pieces, the video makes a special effort to make this video nostalgic in more ways than one.
And the children of the ‘80s are loving it! So far, the video has racked up a whopping 11 million views on YouTube. Xfinity also posted the video to its Twitter, playfully captioning it “Look who came home for the holidays.” The tweet has collected over 14,500 retweets and 33,000 likes.

Clearly, this reference is hitting – more like phoning – home.