Old Spice's Successful Social Media Campaign

By Elizabeth Dow

I’ll never forget the first time I used my boyfriend’s bathroom. Among the messy clutter, I spotted the same red container of Old Spice that my grandfather had used.

Most women wouldn’t be too pleased if their men smelled like their grandfathers, so it seems impossible that Proctor & Gamble could rebrand their 71-year-old line of deodorants and antiperspirants into the hottest trend for college-aged men.

But P & G showed us that all you need to work some marketing magic is an attractive man in a towel and a little bit of social media.

Last week, the Old Spice brand launched an intensive two-day social media campaign. In nothing but a towel, former NFL star Isaiah Mustafa spent July 13 -14 in the bathroom, recording video responses to questions from fans.

During those two days, the Old Spice Man posted nearly 200 direct video responses to Facebook questions and tweets via the Old Spice YouTube channel. Even Good Morning America anchor George Stephanopoulos took part in the fun, asking the Old Spice Man a political question, tweeting, “President’s lost some female support. How does WH get those women voters back?”

The videos, which have garnered Old Spice’s Youtube Channel more than 8 million views and over 130,000 subscribers, are entertaining, witty and just plain funny. His responses were personalized, yet appealing to all.

The viral effect of the videos is remarkable. The Old Spice Man has singlehandedly conquered both my Twitter and Facebook feed this week, as social media users buzzed about his cool charm.

This campaign further proves that social media has the power to re-brand and gain attention, even on the national level.

Elizabeth Dow is a Maroon PR intern. Contact her at edow@maroonpr.com.