Old Spice Guy: The Viral Ad Your Ad Could Smell Like
The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
Old Spice used to be known as a cologne that Grandpa would use- it was as far from hot and trendy as you could get. And yet, through a brilliant recent campaign featuring the very handsome Isaiah Mustafa as a nameless dream guy, Old Spice has revolutionized both its brand perception and the use of viral video in marketing. Mashable noted last week the astonishing success of a recent, briefly lived online campaign where Old Spice Guy made customized videos for fans and celebs alike.
According to stats obtained by Mashable, Old Spice Guy made 180+ videos; 22,500 comments were left on these videos; and over a period of about TWO DAYS, they had received 5.9 million page views. That is about a million more than the number of page views for then President-Elect Obama’s acceptance speech on Election Night 2008. This is more impressive given the short period in which page views were logged.
To what can we attribute the astonishing success of Old Spice Guy? The writer of the article in Mashable, Brenna Ehrlich, observes that most viral video has a nasty element to it- people snickering at someone humiliating themselves, or gawking at something too repulsive to look away from (think Two Girls and a Cup). Yet the Old Spice Guy is thoroughly positive. He is confident, assured, witty, and offers women everything their heart desires (including Old Spice, we would assume). If you’ve been living under a cave for the last few months, here it is. And if you smile every time the ad airs on TV, well, enjoy: