Quite a few naysayers bashed Old Spice and makers of the infamous ad series Wieden + Kennedy. I thought that the jury was still out on the success of the ad series, that is to say, financial success. It was pretty obvious that with regards to brand exposure and eyeballs on the Old Spice brand, the campaign was vastly successful.
Since this post, it seems that the verdict is in. After 186 videos, all of which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/oldspice, Old Spice smells of manly victory!
And victory it is. According data by Nielsen which was provided by Old Spice, overall sales for Old Spice body-wash products are up
- 11 percent in the last 12 months
- 27 percent in the last six months
- 55 percent in the last three months
- and in the last month up a huge107 percent, aided by two new TV spots and the online response videos
Not bad at all huh? In fact, even some of the harshest critics of the campaign have grudgingly allowed themselves to say they waere wrong, or at least somewhat misguided. In his Adweek column, a curmudgeonly Joseph Jaffe gave the campaign just about enough praise, while still sounding reserved. He said:
“It’s hard to determine how much of (the sales increase) was due to an aggressive couponing campaign which was in market simultaneously, but directionally, there does appear to be a correlation between creative resonance, social momentum and sales.”
And now it will be all over. Intense, surely, but Isaiah Mustafa, the musclebound bloke who stars in the videos has hung up his shower cap. After making 184 videos, he said:
“I am just one ridiculously handsome man. I can’t write to everyone.”
