Barney vs The Pet Rock: Why some fads comeback and others die

In the 1990s, Barney the dinosaur captured the hearts of children and their parents worldwide.

The message of love and friendship gave some parents comfort in what their kids watched, and others building blocks for parenting the younger generation.

Decades later, those children are now grown and marketers are hoping the nostalgia behind their beloved green-bellied purple dinosaur inspires a new generation as Mattel, Inc. recently announced a planned reanimated makeover of the iconic purple dinosaur franchise.

USA TODAY sat down with Margo Bergman, an economist who has extensively reviewed research on fads to explore some of the basic mysteries about the enduring popularity some icons enjoy.

"It seems to be some combination of something that is simple enough to capture the attention of whatever age group is interested in it, but has enough depth, or something interesting and hooky, that it gets the parents interested in buying it," said Bergman, with the University of Washington, Tacoma.

Who is Barney 2.0?

Barney modeled kindness in educational movies and a 1992-2010 PBS series, "Barney & Friends," aimed at kids. In it, a costumed actor taught young children life lessons, problem-solving skills and how to be their most "super-dee-duper" selves.

The new Barney, set for release next year, encompasses TV, film and more and will be followed by a Barney product line in 2025.

The series will introduce new audiences to the world of Barney through music-filled adventures centered on love, community and encouragement.

Barney's reboot

Barney was around for nearly 20 years, then basically disappeared.

So why do some fads comeback and others die?

Cold cash, Bergman suggested.

"What's behind all reboots is a sense of nostalgia....the search for more money," she said. 

"I think it's always somebody has thought this was something I remembered in my childhood that was really good. Maybe they're looking at the programs that are out there today and they're seeing that they're maybe too complicated, or that they're seeing a need for something that's that level."

Researchers still haven't figured it exactly what mechanism catches people's attention years later but, Bergman said, psychologists, neurologists, and neuroscientists have all been working on the answer.

"The people that were the target age group for Barney are getting into the decision-making groups," Bergman said. "They're the ones that are in their 30s and 40s now. And they're the ones out there making the decisions, like, 'Hey, I liked this. Why wouldn't we want to try to make this happen again?'"

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Hopefully, Barney's comeback isn't all for money, Berman said

"We can't assume that it was strictly the trying to only make money. Otherwise, they could have gone with something new," she said. "So I think it was more that they knew that this was something that was so popular that they wanted to make sure that this generation had a chance to enjoy it... I hope that not everything in children's programming is strictly for the dollars."

Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.