Purpose

This study aims to use a theoretical-based case study of two distinct ownership groups of the Jack Daniel’s brand to explore how rhetorical history (i.e. malleability of the past for strategic goals) may evoke and capitalize on different forms of nostalgia. Within, the authors configure four forms of nostalgia (i.e. personal, historical, collective and cultural) from the individual or collective interaction and level of direct experience one has with the past as lived or happened.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses an historical research approach which involved the identification of primary and secondary sources, facility tour, source criticism and triangulation to create themes of rhetorical history infused with nostalgic narratives using compelling evidence through rich description of this fusion.

Findings

The findings reveal how nostalgia-driven narratives reflecting different collective longing for the re-creation of an American Paradise Lost used by Jack Daniel (i.e. the man) and later but differently by Brown-Forman. This study uncovers how the company’s inherited past was used rhetorically throughout its history, beginning with the nostalgic story of Jack Daniel and the distillery’s nostalgically choreographed location in Lynchburg, Tennessee. This study delves into this setting to highlight the importance of symbols, details, emotional appeals and communications for collective memory and identity development and to showcase the ways in which they are influenced by different types and forms of nostalgia.

Originality/value

This study adds to a limited number of studies focused on understanding the impact of founders on an organization’s brand and how that is malleable. This study responds to scholarly calls to study the influence of sequenced historical rhetoric on an organization and highlight the relevance of social emotions such as nostalgia for rhetorical history. Finally, the theoretical contribution involves the advancing and construction of a theory typology of nostalgia previously proposed by Havlena and Holak in 1996.

中文翻译：

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杰克丹尼修辞史上的怀旧形式

目的

本研究旨在利用对杰克丹尼品牌两个不同所有权群体的基于理论的案例研究，探讨修辞历史（即过去对战略目标的可塑性）如何唤起和利用不同形式的怀旧情绪。其中，作者根据个人或集体的互动以及人们对过去生活或发生的直接经验的水平，配置了四种形式的怀旧（即个人、历史、集体和文化）。

设计/方法论/途径

本研究采用历史研究方法，包括识别主要和次要来源、设施参观、来源批评和三角测量，通过对这种融合的丰富描述，使用令人信服的证据，创建充满怀旧叙事的修辞历史主题。

发现

研究结果揭示了怀旧驱动的叙事如何反映了不同的集体渴望，即杰克丹尼（即那个男人）和后来布朗福曼所使用的“美国失乐园”的再现。这项研究揭示了公司继承的过去是如何在其整个历史中被修辞使用的，从杰克丹尼的怀旧故事和酿酒厂位于田纳西州林奇堡的怀旧地点开始。本研究深入探讨这一背景，强调符号、细节、情感诉求和沟通对于集体记忆和身份发展的重要性，并展示它们受到不同类型和形式的怀旧影响的方式。

原创性/价值

这项研究是对有限数量的研究的补充，这些研究的重点是了解创始人对组织品牌的影响及其可塑性。这项研究响应了学术界的号召，研究有序的历史修辞对组织的影响，并强调社会情感的相关性，例如对修辞历史的怀旧。最后，理论贡献涉及对 Havlena 和 Holak 于 1996 年提出的怀旧理论类型学的推进和构建。