Old Spice

    If there has been a line of advertising that has caught my attention the most over the past few years, it has to be Old Spice.  They have repeatedly produced silly commercials that catch my full attention every single time I see them.  Many of you have seen the Old Spice Man and the "Smell Like A Man" Campaign.  This change is advertising technique has helped Old Spice ten fold.  Old Spice and it's silly ads began to change a year or so before the "Smell Like A Man" campaign.

   Old Spice first changed up its style in advertising in 2008 with the release of "Semi Pro" starring Will Ferrel.  They released a line of commercials featuring Flint Tropics basketball star Jackie Moon.  This was Old Spices' first attempt at irrelevant and silly advertising.  This line of commercials featured irrelevant commentary and made up "facts."  Yet somehow managed to get it's point across very effectively.

 

    There is only one thing these commercials have in common aside from Will Ferrel spewing nonsense about sweat and his taste for women from Germany, they all contain the words "clinically proven" and "pro strength" either in spoken word or in text.  These two phrases stand out even against the silly jumble of words Will Ferrel manages to unleash.   

    Old Spice then took on the new ad campaign "Smell Like A Man".  This is an evolution of the same irrelevant techniques that were uses in the Jackie Moon commercials.  A lot of it doesn't make a whole lot of sense and once again features made up facts.  These commercials have been the most popular by far.

 

    Old Spice in the past was known to put out advertisements that weren't as entertaining and were seen as very dry.  I remember growing up and believing Old Spice products were for old men.  With new products and a new target age Old Spice had to sway away from ads like this one.

   The bottom line is that these new Old Spice commercials are very enjoyable to watch.  With social media and online resources Old Spice has a little trick up it's sleeve.  The trick is, these Will Ferrel and "Smell Like A Man" ads are so enjoyable that they are amongst some of the highest searched videos on the internet.  The repetition of seeing and hearing the words Old Spice and actually wanting to see the commercials has driven Old Spice sales up 107%.

   Old Spice seems to have gotten it all right.  There use of silly advertising, although often irrelevant, and their use of social media and the availability of their ads on the internet have made their advertising very effective.  Making a commercial funny and enjoyable to watch creates repetitive views and in return drives the product into the brain.  End result, the first thing the consumer looks for in the men's hygiene isle is Old Spice.