"Hello, ladies, look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me. Sadly, he isn’t me, but if he stopped using ladies scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he’s me..."
When you think of Old Spice, what do you think of? Brand associations with Old Spice tend to be that it is for old men; something your Grandfather might use. This has all changed though with the ‘Old Spice Man’ and their new commercials. If you haven’t seen the Old Spice ad ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’ ad, then im sorry to tell you but you have been living under a rock.
For those of you living under a rock, here is the link to the original ad that started all this:
After winning the Grand Prix title at the 2010 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, the Old Spice Man ad went viral. The astounding success of this campaign was due to the effective use of social media. Old Spice has shown us how social media can be used to the best of its ability, showing us the true value that social media can provide in today’s society. Social media is a two-way street, and companys need to understand that to get the most out of it they need to create conversations with consumer, rather than bombarding us with one-way communication. What amazed me about Old Spice’s techniques was that they were creating advertisements on demand. Through the use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and toher social media sites, they were asking people to ask the Old Spice Man (ex-American Football player Isaiah Mustafa) questions. They would then choose the best questions for Mustafa to answer. This two-way interaction between the brand and consumers helped skyrocket the success of this campaign. Within 3 days, Wieden+Kennedy, the advertising agency behind the campaign, created 183 personal responses to questions ranging from "If there was an epic battle between you and a rabid lion, who would end up looking better after?" to "When two men both using Old Spice Body Wash meet, do they cancel each other out? ".
As of today, there were
• 16,844,491 YouTube view for the ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’ ad
• 749,763 Facebook fans
• 100,669 Twitter followers
After the amazing success of this viral campaign, the issue still is whether it actually worked. Many viral campaigns might be successful in gaining attention, but do they actually achieve their intended purpose of increasing sales? In my opinion I don’t think they do. I tend to look at a video for its entertainment value, however they don’t tend to influence my purchase decision. In terms of Old Spice, reports coming in show that sales have dramatically increased as a direct result of this marketing campaign. Although I don’t think this viral campaign has changed my intention to purchase the product, it has changed my perception of the Old Spice brand. Now when someone says ‘Old Spice’ I don’t think of a wrinkly old man but instead think of a sexy, muscley man.
What do other people think? Are you more likely to purchase Old Spice now? Are there any better examples you can think of showcasing the amazing powers of social media? Have any other brands created ‘ads on demand’?
Comment about this blog, tell me what you think.
Until next time
Haley
"...Im on a horse"
A great start to your blogging career, Haley!
ReplyDeleteI love the way this campaign then morphed further into a social media "conversation". People were able to ask Isaiah a question via Twitter last week, and he answered within a few hours via a personalised youtube video response. In particular, he responded to high-profile media celebreties, hence increasing exposure of the brand to new audiences. Very cool.
But you ask a good question... is it selling any more product?
To be honest i'd never heard of old spice before this ad campaign. But I can gather it was targetted to an older demographic until now. In terms of sales, I'm not suprised it has increased, however i think the short-term increase in sales isn't as important as how the overall image of the product has drastically transformed in such a short period of time.
ReplyDeleteThis is a prime example of how something so simple like a tv commercial can utilise electronic mediums, go viral and be viewed by millions of people globally - and if executed correctly can create a positive perception overnight. Could old spice have done this otherwise? Probably not.
Hi Hayley!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really interesting topic - especially in relation to Old Spice. What I think is that what many people can't get past is the 'old man'associations relating to Old Spice, and I think that so long as they have the word 'old'in the brand name, these associations will be really hard to shake!
I have asked a few boys that I know, that have seen the ad, whether or not they would buy Old Spice and they have mostly responded with "no?! isn't it for older men?'- so while obviously the ad is extremely successful in raising awareness for the product, I'm not sure that perceptions of the product have changed too much.
Listening to this guy interview recently, he is really just goofing around. I love it when people fall into things they are good at.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of the time Charlie Chaplin came 3rd in a Charlie Chaplin look-a-like contest. Shows that anyone can be good at anything, even impersonating you!
Also, I have been looking for more info on the web about who the script writers working behind the scenes were. I am surprised they haven't received much kudos.
Fantastic article, really liked it!!