The Old Spice Guy is Awesome

This is older news in regards to the digital world but in regards to marketing - Old Spice is awesome. More specifically, Old Spice's creative power through Wieden & Kennedy (the ad agency behind it all). Sure we all loved "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" Super Bowl ad but the creative folks at Weiden & Kennedy took a chance and took things a step further.

Over the course of a couple of days, Twitter users and YouTube commenters were allowed to submit questions for the Old Spice guy. Throughout those two days, the crew filmed the Old Spice Guy (Isaiah Mustafa) replying to many of these questions. 186 responses in fact. It was one of the first real-time viral campaigns out there and generated more buzz and YouTube views than any traditional advertising scheme could've bought them. Below is one of the anonymous responses but you can check out more responses on the Old Spice YouTube Channel. I particularly like the randomness of this response.

What's even better are the copycat responses from other people, mimicking the Old Spice campaign. The library at BYU created what I felt was the best imitation ad from anything I saw, staying true to the original ad spot's form.

Several people criticized the effort for not selling soap or not being truly social. There is a chance they may be right (although I did see this article noting an 107% increase in Body Wash sales). I believe the point many people miss out on is that this wasn't a short term marketing campaign to increase sales in the short term. It was a brand building effort, a method the people at Proctor and Gamble (Old Spice's parent company) are masterminds at.

Either way, it's still a furiously funny campaign and just plain awesome.