Old Spice: Best use of social media yet?

Such an amazing campaign and the follow up idea is genius.

I’m heading out to buy some Old Spice only so they keep this stuff coming!

BRILLIANT

AMZG!

So, so good. I happened to catch Isaiah Mustafa being interviewed live on morning TV the other day and he seems genuinely bemused and appears to be having a lot of fun with this. Man hugs all round.

Wow. Talk about getting the message across WITH frequency. Watched them all – want to watch more………..

Utter Genius.

This is easily the best use of the whole Social Medium yet – they’ve got him replying to YouTube comments, Tweets, and the scripting is brilliant..

Very low number of followers for the Twitter account, will be interesting to graph that rise.. AND, more importantly, this – IMHO will help sales.. which is important, isn’t it? 🙂

Completely addictive and such an incredible campaign. I’m lost for any other words.

Pretty damn badass. Apart from the talent and production, and what I imagine will be a short-lived team working furiously to pump out all the content, a really amazing way to avoid media costs and associated junk.

Ticking all the boxes as well, smashing it on Reddit, on Twitter, on YT etc etc etc.

I hope they’re filming the behind the scenes on this. Tweet goes up >> copywriters react >> throw over to director/crew etc. Roll tape. Would be fun to see the chaos and buzz.

This is brilliant!

Great stuff. Pity the product is still so bloody awful.

Pure gold, can it turn around a decaying “Howard Cunningham” brand ?
Probably, it’s that good.

The personalised key influencer tailoring is the cream.

Golf claps all round.

Unfortunately we’ll all be sick of hearing it used in every presentation on SM in the same way Apple is in every brand / innovation presentation [well pre- IPhone 4 recall anyway].

The actor must be on 24hr call out !

Wow. Absolutely awesome. I’m gonna buy me some Old Spice just for the hell of it now – to mark the moment.

Genius!

This is without doubt the case study to beat. By what I suspect will be a long way.

I will be extremely keen to see numbers after this. ie; brand awareness prior to now. Let’s face it, Old Spice was virtually a forgotten brand until THAT ad and now this new piece of genius means that everyone gets in on it.

Yup, may as well give them the awards right now. They’ll get them all sooner or later.

Amazing!

Never seen anything like it. Brilliant use of Social Media!

Respectfully,
Paul Castain

This is just brilliant – exciting to watch it happen in real time.

This is a great example of how to use social media. I’ve always loved this ad. I’m so glad they reprised the same actor and theme and made another successful campaign.

Watching this explode on Twitter last night/this this morning was phenomenal. They even have him replying to random questions on Yahoo. Absolutely brilliant!

@Andrew 11.45am: You don’t like the talent? Que? From what I was reading last night he can rival Chuck Norris in the meme stakes. Thats no easy feat.

Cant wait to go out and buy me some Old Spice.

So the surfboard is dead then?

So Tim, what is your suggestion? Look forward to seeing the video…..

Pure genius.

Old Spice have overcome the “scent of the uncle who molested you” reputation with spectacular style. (See the Bill Maher quip from a few years back when the brand was bottoming out…)

Deserves all the accolades and awards it’s getting. (The Ellen reply is hilarious.)

Brilliant mainstream to social to mainstream to social etc.

Looking forward to a Mumbrella one.

Love this as a piece of marketing. However, if the product strategy has not changed then a sustainable increase in sales will not be achieved. People may try the product, but if it’s still the same old shit, they’ll only buy it once.

Does anyone know if the product has changed?

how was this exercise initially promoted into social media and how did the media outlets get involved??

Have to love this. It shouldn’t be overlooked that Old Spice paid Twitter to be a trending topic. Good on them for doing so, finally a unique media buy in social media backed up by superb creative execution.

very good indeed, reminds me of the burger king subservient chicken campaign but updated to include the new social media channels

Good on them!!!

Oh man, why of all mornings have I been too busy to keep a close on on twitter happenings!?! I love this campaign – the latest TVC is poetry in motion 🙂

Fantastic idea.
Watched way too many videos already…

You know it’s great when people actually like it, no, love it. Somewhat uncommon. The copywriters must be having a ball writing those quick response videos too.

Best work I have seen.

Superb!

Amazing. Simply amazing. An awesome idea pursued the way it should be.

The best use of social media!!! I totally agree. This has blown me away

I love the campaign – and yes, it’s pure genius. I love how it’s responsive to the online community. And responsive not just replying via Twitter, but keeping in with the whole campaign tone and essense (fun, light and entertaining). It’s creative. It’s great. It creates buzz.

I think it’s a great campaign to change perceptions/reinvigorate the good ol’ Old Spice brand – even if it might be the same old stuff.

I’ve got campaign envy.

Absolutely BRILLIANT!!
…aahh is Old Spice now cool?

So fun and clever! I can imagine we will see a lot of copy cats over the next 12 months. If you find a behind-the-scenes story – please post it Tim.

Simple, spicey genius!

The writing is so on point, and the medium is used to its potential. The perfect formula for success!

Apparently Angela A Hut-hyphen-Chamberlain said yes: http://twitter.com/jsbeals

Amazing – funny, clever, engaging.

first political party to use this for the election will get my vote.

The bar has been well and truly set. Sure we’ll get sick of hearing this campaign and response dissected over and over but if it means agencies & clients take note and rise to the challenge then bring it on!

Fantastic.. both for Old Spice and social media. Makes all our jobs selling the power of social media to clients so much easier.

So who’s going to buy Old Spice products as a result? Thought so… losers

I wrote a blog about this being the best advertising campaign ever a while back; seems I am still right!

http://www.twocentsgroup.com.a.....dvert-ever

A great use of “new” social media to bring life into an old product and gain heap and heaps of free publicity along the way.

Genius and so fresh. Fast becoming a cult product!

Love it!! They even mention one of our clients in one of the videos!

@Scott Pettet
Totally agree. The concept is brilliant but unless they have changed the actual product it will be a short lived up turn.
People will buy it once then realise it actually repels women.

Analogous viral

Priceless. In an even better and more viral than Mastercard kind of way.

While I absolutely love this campaign and the thoughtfulness of the videos, isn’t this still a case of a clever advertising putting a ton of shine and polish on an existing product? How many of you actually want to smell of Old Spice?

If the next phase included social product development, I’d certainly like to be involved.

this is f*cking great, he must spend all day wearing nothing but a towel talking to a camera. I might have to tweet something to see if he responds

Stunning work. You’re right, Mumbo. It absolutely nails the perfect use social media. It outshines so much of the crappy, faddish digital stuff that is polluting our industry right now.
Sensational.

Didn’t we JUST have a similar campaign called TAKE TIME BACK from KitKat? Where you had to ask the “desk jockey” to do something, and he did it….

Not that different – just clever – and because of the humour with the ad in the first place, and it’s viral nature – it’s been picked up by networks all over the world. Betcha Kit Kat are thinking that they should have done a funny superbowl ad….

Look at your social media campaign, now Old Spices, now yours Now back to Old Spices…

—> I agree Tim, I very much hope this inspires brands and agencies alike on how they engage with people through social media.

Absolutely brilliant.

This makes me love the industry i work in! Pure Gold…

How much money has Old Spice saved on airtime, I must have seen there adds online about 20 times. What a fantastic project.

I bet Old Spice is selling by the truck load as we speak 🙂

Great work to everyone involved!!

It’s going nuts around the whole world – http://trendsmap.com/topic/%40oldspice

How many copywriters?

One or two, left alone to do what they do better than anyone else, and a clear path from script to video without middle management suits and mediocre clients fucking it up.

Funny how the fastest work is always the best because the opinions of every man and their dog don’t get a look in.

For the answer to where this kind of work comes from, see Spike Jonze’s recent comments on creative leadership. One captain of the creative ship and the ability to say No.

Great work W+K

Ahhh Wiedens…. I <3 you

I don’t rate it.

now go read my blog!

When was the last time you saw celebrities and other brands trip over themselves to try to be part of an advertising campaign? Usually it’s desperate tweets from the campaign account to a celeb begging for a RT or mention.

#loveyourwork

Brilliance – top notch work Wieden + Kennedy. Is it me or does Isaiah Mustafa have an air of Ron Burgundy about him which is uncontrollably addictive?

A great campaign! I’m a fan of the Guy Kawasaki reply. Just goes to show that funny/silly/sarcasm –> discussion –> brand awareness. We’re all talking about Old Spice now whereas last week we didn’t care.

If you love what Old Spice have done, you’re gonna love what I’m doing as Barbarella X for UK shave brand, King of Shaves!

And the entire people of the Netherlands: http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabas.....ranje.html

Does the Old Spice man vote? Does he think civic participation is the mark of a real man?

More! More! More!

The execution and social component is genius!! Even thought I think some of the SM is fake but definable well done…

I’d be willing to bet ‘Old Spice’ are still offloading truckloads of the ‘Old STOCK’! Somewhere, deep in a top security bunker beneath a snow-covered mountain, there are secured shipping containers of Old Spice as far as the eye can see; all of the 1970’s vintage. A Dr Evil type discovered the stash that was secreted away when people’s grandpas and Thurston Howell III wannabes went to the great, fragrant bowls club in the sky. Now, he wishes to unleash the woman-lassooing power of Old Spice on a new generation. Wonder how long it will take before Old Spice have to start manufacturing NEW batches! 😉

I kinda think these adds are disturbing.

I’ve used Old Spice anti-perspirant/deodorant for the last 32 years or so! I “don’t leave home without it.” I used the cologne in high school, but have now moved on to more sophisticated–and expensive!–scents. Long live Old Spice! And death to Axe!!!

loving it. About time someone decided to pay internet users their dues; WE DON’T WANT YOUR STUPID BILLBOARD STYLE NON-INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING… But this kind of stuff we will EAT up like theres no tomorrow.

Brilliant !

A behind the scenes look at how they did it :

http://www.readwriteweb.com/ar.....ternet.php

Plus (Global Interactive CD at Wieden) Iain Tait’s blog post on it :

http://crackunit.posterous.com.....ness-and-c

This is an awesome social media campaign but where did it start?
TV!
I wonder if this can go someway to eliminating the Online vs TV debate that’s been raging here for years. A great idea grows to awesome if you do both.

@Andrew (#81),

You nailed it.

This shits ALL over the D5 tweet-to-LA campaign…

Maybe the best one yet – a response to a question from Hayley Mustafa (Isaiah’s daughter) which asked “Why do you look so much like my dad @isaiahmustafa?

The response from Old Spice Man is here – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvuYcbgZl-U.

Love it. If Dos Equis doesn’t copy this with “The Most Interesting Man in the World” I’ll eat my hat. Huge Job-Jab potential with this too.

Let the derivatives commence!

Absolutely brilliant!

Thinking foremost as a consumer, I only wish that more brands were smart enough to treat their audience with such intelligence, humour, and dialogue. It’s worth pointing out that while it’s a brand for men, it is also women who are engaging with it – yes, ‘mums’ do have a sense of humour, not to mention a pulse…

I’m enjoying the ‘romance’ unfolding between the OldSpice guy and @alyssa_milano, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Y7MZV_bD0 – funny and even insightful.

However, creating an open dialogue is a bit like jumping into rapids: OldSpice made the potential mistake(?) of asking Alyssa what she wanted to have happen next, and she replied with her own bathroom video http://post.ly/nEMP telling him to donate $100,000 to the Oil Spill Restoration project…

…so she’s smartly jumped on the OldSpice bandwagon to pimp her own cause.

Now all her fans are waiting for OldSpice guy to respond, and this might be hard for him to get out of without looking bad.

Or, he could make the donation, plus another great video, and look like even more of a superstar.

Any which way, this campaign is a winner. I might not be running out to buy OldSpice for ‘my man’, but no doubt it has raised the brand to top of mind and gained some consideration amongst people who would otherwise have never gone near it.

Aaaaand. . . it’s over : http://youtu.be/nFDqvKtPgZo

Even timed the end well. Going out on top. Nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-33XOkdQ3c&feature=channel

@Andrew: This is an awesome social media campaign but where did it start? TV!

I’ve never seen the original Old Spice ad on TV. I must have watched it 50 times online. Sounds to me more like an online video that occasionally got played on television.

But anyway, this is the greatest ad campaign of all time. Nothing comes close to this. I

Oh yeah, now go and watch the Sensis socks campaign video and try not to stab yourself in the face.

Yeah right SHG. Old Spice campaign made by super cool agency in amereeca for shit aftershave with man in towel making up funny shit = best thing ever ever ever.

Sensis campaign with crap video from crap telco in australeea but helped out the homeless a bit = stab myself in the face.

You stab yourself in the face.

Thanks Cedric. These comments needed some irreverance.

Aligning yourselves with all the brands and businesses you like, having them love you and show you off to their friends. In 3D Digital next. Plug me in.

Will businesses really give us good money to do this stuff..?

Ultimately, (perhaps because I’ve been in the industry internationally for 20 years, though I’d hoped we were all the same) – I’d perhaps consider this soap for purchase, but unless it smelt good and was good value, I wouldn’t buy it. No doubt a good percentage will though. Let’s see the sales spike and follow up, and MY GOD we are going to be ever busier bees with our 15 hours of constant partial attention per day that all this is leading to.

Great fun stuff, well executed. Isn’t that always the key..?

Brilliant Stuff

Sales of old spice are down 7% since the campaign started. So whilst a nice idea, it isn’t driving sales – therefore unfortunately #fail

Presumably they will tie this in with a floor campaign with packaging and signage related to the guy and the ad. This will ensure a big bump in sales over Xmas as a joke gift and then ppl will realise OS smells awful. If they really want to increase sales they should use this once in a lifetime opportunity to relaunch the product as a new fragrance.

Finally got around to watching a bunch of these. It’s absolutely brilliant! I wonder what the percentage of purchases are made by females for their partners?

Interesting comment from Paul on 16 June that sales of Old Spice down seven percent since the ad started. I wonder where he got those stats. He doesn’t say, so I wonder if they are true.
Does anyone know how you would find out whether sales of Old Spice are up or down since the ad campaign started?

Love the Ad. Hate the Product. Not unlike the same feeling I have when watching Nike ads.

Does anyone have access to ScanTrack? Be interesting to see impact to sales.

Interesting idea to totally reposition of the brand.

Forget ‘Dad’s brand’. Until this work launched, Old Spice was ‘Grand Dad’s brand’.

They’ve jumped two generations in a single bound. God bless ’em.

Apparently the popularity is not converting into sales

http://industry.bnet.com/adver.....-are-down/

“For instance, it was none other than P&G that picked up the Film Grand Prix this year for Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” TV spot from Wieden + Kennedy. There is little doubt about the viral hit’s popularity. Launched in February, the official version has racked up nearly 12.2 million YouTube views.

But sales of the featured product—Red Zone After Hours Body Wash—aren’t necessarily tracking with that consumer appeal: In the 52 weeks ended June 13, sales of the brand have dropped 7 percent according to SymphonyIRI. (That amount excludes those rung up at Walmart.) P&G execs were not available to comment.”

It’s a cracking campaign, well developed, wonderfully simple. The engagement with consumers around questions offered up is terrific if it didn’t feel completely swiped off http://www.askaninja.com which has been doing this incredibly well for the past 3 years. Call me a cynic on a Saturday night.

Hi All,

Just an FYI: I read this this morning: “Old Spice campaign is not only great, it sells – now #1 in U.S. in both dollar and volume share”

link –> http://www.campaignbrief.com/2.....um=twitter

Campaign Brief can reveal that Wieden & Kennedy Portland’s ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’ campaign for Old Spice, which launched in February, has resulted in increased sales for Procter & Gamble in the U.S.

“Old Spice is now the number one male body wash and deodorant in both dollar and volume share,” according to a spokesperson for Old Spice when contacted via W&K creative directors Eric Baldwin and Jason Bagley on behalf of CB. “While we can’t disclose specific sales data, we can tell you we are very happy with the positive business growth that has been a result of the campaign.”

Cheers.
Andy

Looking forward to seeing how much further down the Rabbit hole they’re going to take us with this campaign. Definitely not the last we’ve seen of @OldSpice!

Blissfully ignorant. And revolt against any companies invasivness.

The more you get in my face the less a buy…………

Old Spice ads win fans, not sales http://su.pr/2zvoQg

You will soon have to update this article with all the @Alyssa_Milano thing 😉 @jack (co-founder of Twitter) just entered the game…

Do you think there is a kind of commercial agreement there ?

I think this is the most brilliant thing I have come across in a long time.
WOW!

very clever. Aren’t we missing the point thought? The bar has been well and truly raised.. and the result will be.. more advertising, and more stuff, people buy more stuff, then there is more advertising, and someone makes money out of selling stuff. stuff. great.

The result of this will be that old spice sell more cosmetic product. How is that awesome, or sexy? Who actually needs it? Do we even like old spice? How many of the worlds resources have gone into making it? what’s the point?

great, intelligent advertising campaign. Its such a shame that its an advertising campaign.

@liberino

I share some of your concerns re. overconsumption, but I’m a total hypocrite overconsumer myself, so I’d never throw that particular stone from inside my lovely glass house.

And this campaign is just unequivocally awesome, it deserves all the plaudits (and increased sales!) its getting.

Case Study Video : http://creativity-online.com/w.....tudy/20896

An unbelievable article and campaign.