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Chapter 6
The Old Spice Man Spices Up Brand Marketing
When Isaiah Mustafa appeared in a 2010 Super Bowl commercial
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE] with a towel wrapped around his waist
and a bottle of Old Spice body wash in one hand, he kicked off a long-running viral marketing
campaign that has rejuvenated the brand’s sales. Mustafa, a former NFL wide receiver, smiled
into the camera and addressed women viewers, saying he was “the man your man could smell
like” if they used Old Spice. The combination of his wryly funny lines, winning delivery, and
buff physique made the commercial an instant YouTube hit. Suddenly, Old Spice, a pre– World
War II brand that zoomed to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s, was an overnight social
media sensation, with Facebook fans, Twitter comments, and consumer-generated spoof videos
stirring up conversation around the world. The Old Spice Man campaign, created by ad agency
Wieden & Kennedy for brand owner Procter & Gamble
[http://bi.galegroup.com/essentials/company/307096?u=tlearn_trl], had successfully added a
relevancy and an affective appeal that was attracting and entertaining a younger audience than
the brand’s traditional customer base—and boosting sales significantly.
As soon as the first Isaiah Mustafa ad went viral, the agency followed up with a second
commercial in the same humorous vein, again featuring the bare-chested Old Spice Man. Again,
public response was so enthusiastic that the campaign geared up for a new and unprecedented
socialmedia blitz. This time, Old Spice invited users of Twitter, Reddit, and Digg—including
celebrities and athletes such as Ellen DeGeneres, Demi Moore, and Apolo Ohno—to submit
questions for the Old Spice Man to answer. As hundreds of questions poured in, consumers voted
for the ones they wanted to see answered. Next, in a marathon three-day studio session, the
agency scripted and Mustafa starred in 186 brief YouTube videos responding to individual
questioners in typical wry style. When Kevin Rose of Digg.com tweeted that he wasn’t feeling
well, the Old Spice Man answered with a “get well” video that Rose immediately mentioned to
his more than 1 million Twitter followers.
The concentrated barrage of targeted, personalized tweets and entertaining videos stirred up
enormous positive word of mouth among consumers. Just as important, Old Spice was the subject
of many stories on TV and radio, in the blogosphere, in newspapers and magazines, and seemingly
everywhere on the Internet where news commentators posted articles, podcasts, or videos. All the
media coverage (which the brand did not pay for) fueled even more consumer interest in Old
Spice. Within days of the Old Spice Man’s answer videos appearing online, the brand’s Facebook
page collected more than 600,000 “likes” and the online videos were viewed more than 7 million
times.
Procter & Gamble supported the social media campaign with discount coupons and other
promotional efforts that reinforced brand awareness and offered an incentive to buy and try Old
Spice products right away. Old Spice sales quickly skyrocketed, and the brand captured the
market leader position, despite competition from Unilever’s Axe, Beiersdorf’s Nivea, and
Henkel’s Right Guard brands.
A year later, Procter & Gamble launched a new chapter in the Old Spice Man story. This
time, Fabio—the model and star of many romance novel covers—appeared in online videos
challenging Isaiah Mustafa for the title of Old Spice Man. This tongue in-cheek mano a mano
competition consisted of 39 back-and-forth videos that drew millions of viewers and tens of
thousands of social media comments. Consumers clicked to vote for the Old Spice Man they
preferred, and after several days of hectic and humorous exchanges, Mustafa and Fabio appeared
in one final video announcing that Mustafa had retained his title. The big winner was, of course,
Old Spice, which gained even more brand awareness and enjoyed higher sales. Now Procter &
Gamble is taking the Old Spice Man campaign on the road to universities and cities where
consumers can try branded products and have their photos taken in poses reminiscent of the
original Old Spice Man commercial.
i
CASE QUESTIONS
1. How is Old Spice using evaluative conditioning to influence consumers’ affective attitudes?
Identify the conditioned stimulus, unconditioned stimulus, unconditioned response, and
conditioned response in this situation.
2. What role does the dual-mediation hypothesis play in the Old Spice Man’s marketing
success?
3. What aspects of the communication source are involved in influencing affective attitudes
toward Old Spice?
4. Do you think consumers will maintain a positive attitude toward Old Spice if the Old Spice
Man campaign suspends messages for more than one or two months? Explain your answer.
