Posted on July 26, 2010 in Just for Fun, SEO and Internet Marketing

I can’t remember the last time I saw Old Spice products on a supermarket or chemist shelf, but that’s because I wasn’t looking out for them. The Old Spice guy has ensured that, like buying a new car and then seeing it everywhere you look, Old Spice products will again start floating across our radars.

Renewing an old brand

Old Spice is an old brand and this marketing campaign is a clever way to update it and make it relevant to a younger market.

What started as a clever series of Old Spice commercials has become a viral web phenomenon. The sole star of the commercials, the enigmatic Isaiah Mustafa, is having great fun making the most of it and is becoming more famous than the product he’s promoting.

Mustafa, a former American football player, has won global attention as "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”. He’s also appeared on Oprah and signed a talent deal with US network NBC.

And now he’s branched out to use Twitter to offer his uniquely sage and wryly amusing advice to the world. The world of the web has taken this character to its bosom and even the most cynical are following this hypnotic character, clad only in a securely fastened towel in a tiled bathroom.

Hitting the spot with social media

The point of difference here is Old Spice guy’s unique ability to spout forth in witty responses to individual questions posed by bloggers, and Twitter and YouTube users. Celebrities and the rest of us alike – if the question captures Mustafa’s imagination, he will post a short clip speaking directly to the enquirer, which contains droll references to his manliness and high level of intelligence.

Everyone is intrigued, and marketers all over the world view it as a case study on how to manufacture a viral hit.

Get it? It works because he interacts ...

The hunk with the direct gaze and mellifluous voice has even responded to questions posed to him by Yahoo Answers users, and has created a thread on the Reddit link sharing site.

... and responds quickly

At the high point of the campaign new clips were posted on YouTube every few minutes in answer to questions from the famous and anonymous, making one wonder if a personal script writer was on hand, or is his vocabulary really that good? Whatever it is, his mock egotistical style and eloquent use of words has everyone talking.

Building a following

And of course there’s nothing like a parody of a parody. Referencing the Old Spice Guy, good sport Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision, stood bravely in his shave coat looking slightly off camera for an advertisement to promote World Vision’s work. 

It's worth checking out. See the Old Spice YouTube Channel to watch all the original video responses available.