Old Spice, a very popular brand of male grooming products, is manufactured by Proctor and Gamble. Old Spice was originally founded in 1934 by William Lightfoot Schultz. Proctor and Gamble is a multinational consumer goods company located in Cincinnati Ohio, and took over Old Spice in the year of 1990 from Shulton Inc. Ever since purchasing the company, Proctor and Gamble have continued to provide all original Old Spice products as well as many new products. Due to this, the line of Old Spice has been enhanced (History of Old Spice).
The Old Spice television advertising campaign was created in the United States by ad agency Wieden and Kennedy (History of Old Spice). In this Effie Award winning advertising campaign, the advertiser’s specific objective is to make viewer’s switch to Old Spice. Old Spice has been around for quite some time now. The target audience in this particular advertising campaign would be women who are in relationships with men. I personally enjoyed this ad due to the fact it does not go after the obvious audience. Male hygiene products usually are out to target men; however, this ad took a different approach.
Even though Old Spice is able to reach a larger audience because they market a lot of their products to both men and women, the main objective here is for women to have their husband’s/boyfriend’s switch to this product. By using Old Spice, these men will become more masculine. The concerns of the target audience are that these men don’t smell manly. In fact, Isaiah Mustafa, the star in this advertising campaign states they are using “lady scented body wash. ” In order to smell manly, these men should switch to Old Spice. This venue is definitely appropriate to communicate with the target audience because women are watching television a lot.
This is a very visual advertising campaign and without television, the true meaning of this advertisement would not be portrayed. The central idea of the ad message that grabs my attention and stays with me would be the fact that Old Spice is a manly product, and real men should smell like this. Isaiah Mustafa continuously says “look at your man, now back to me. ” All the events throughout this ad are completely random, but that is how they keep the viewer engaged. By doing that, the viewer is able to remember this ad and therefore remember the product.
Throughout this ad, there are many ways the photography, setting, talent and scripting support the central idea and connect with the target audience. Isaiah Mustafa starts out in a bathroom because that’s where Old Spice body wash would be used. Next he tells us viewers to look down, and the background suddenly drops to him being on a boat with new clothes. While he is on this boat, he lifts up an oyster that has two tickets in it, but they suddenly turn into a handful of diamonds. The background proceeds to drop once again and Isaiah Mustafa is suddenly on a beautiful white horse.
By switching to Old Spice, this ad makes men feel like “a million bucks. ” Look what happens when you begin to use Old Spice! Anything is possible! While this is more of a humorous commercial; that is what engages viewers to take interest in the ad. Viewers are also engaged because of Isaiah Mustafa being so appealing. He is a handsome, funny, and confident man, and his voice is very deep. He almost reminds me of a male sex symbol. In the very beginning moments of this ad, he is showing off his abs while the rest of his body is wrapped in a towel.
Isaiah Mustafa is a very physical fit man and that is what attracts the women to watch the ad. Jens P. Berget added a review on viralblog. com stating “the only thing that impresses me by old spice is the advertisements. It’s creative, and I think that they’re doing something right when it comes to changing the focus to women. Women will notice, and so will men. ” Another viewer stated on tvropes. org that “the writing is a major part, but it is Isaiah Mustafa’s delivery that has turned this into a viral success (and landed it on TV Tropes).
In an age when avoiding ads is getting easier all the time with DVR and ad blocking software; having an ad that is so entertaining stands out. Perhaps if all ads were this fun to watch, people wouldn’t bother skipping them. ” While it was very difficult to find any negative reviews, one viewer wrote on outspokenmedia. com that “this is a great campaign, but the product sucks. ” I was shocked to see that this person was disappointed in the product. A case study was formed on the Old Spice Response Campaign. The first commercial to air was “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” and it was an overnight success. It quickly became a cultural phenomenon, generating significant word-of-mouth buzz online and off-line, and getting referenced by many celebrity fans,” according to D&AD. Another campaign was also formed on the popularity of the “Old Spice Guy. ” D&AD stated “186 personal video messages responding to fans’ comments on social sites such as Twitter, Facebook and others were scripted, filmed and then posted online in just over two and a half days of production. Many of the videos churned out from start to finish in just ten to fifteen minutes.
This work eventually went on to record more than sixty five million views, making it one of the fastest-growing and most popular online interactive advertising campaigns in history. ” In the end, it’s simple. This ad alludes viewers to the fact that they should use Old Spice and good things will happen when they do. Viewer’s attentions are continuously grabbed the whole time because they are enjoying these ads. They are falling in love with Isaiah Mustafa’s character and becoming invested in the brand. By reaching out to media, celebrities, news outlets, and common fold, Old Spice was able to make personal connections with influencers.
It wasn’t too long ago that Old Spice was a brand typically forgotten by many or referred to something that was only worn by their father. Old Spice now has their own YouTube channel and is the fourth most subscribed to sponsored channel of all time, and the third most viewed channel of all time (Barone, Lisa). “The momentum Old Spice is creating goes beyond just “silly Web videos”. They’re using remarkable content to capture brand awareness, eyes, and in the end, sales” (Barone, Lisa). Old Spice has come a long way.
