Old Spice – Secret behind youtube video
The secret behind the Youtube sensation Old Spice videos is simple… simple genius! They have managed to leverage social networking sites like Twitter and Youtube to create a viral marketing masterpiece. Where many would balk today at the thought of sharing an advertisement with their friends, or watch an ad voluntarily, Old Spice have tapped in to something special. By personally responding to Twitter users via Youtube!
The thought of an actor, a sports star, even better an overnight internet icon responding to me personally gives great excitement. I like I’m sure thousands have, tweeted immediately in an attempt to post something witty to Isaiah Mustafa (the old spice guy). Genius. Old Spice a dated brand are successfully recreating themselves by creating online buzz, the use of a witty and insanely humorous buff character and the key, the secret, social interaction.
This is where so many have got it wrong. So called social media experts, try all the tricks of the trade to produce viral marketing campaigns, but the secret ingredient missing… interaction. Old Spice have produced an ad that captures the imagination, makes you laugh and now have followed it up with a global online viral campaign, that people want to engage with, want to interact with. Who didn’t want to call themselves one of the few who had a personal response!?
The question of course is, will this turn in to sales? I would have to say yes. A brand that wouldn’t be even close to on a young mans radar, suddenly has market saturation as news sites pick up the popular sensation and multiply it’s success. Market saturation = consumer awareness = purchases. How sustained these purchases will be is yet to be determined… that will somewhat come down to the quality of the product. Does it still smell like my grandfather?
The original video:
An example of a video response to Old Spice questions on twitter: