Haven't seen the Old Spice commercials on YouTube? I ran across one for the first time last summer, via an ad on Facebook. Since then, the quirky spots starring ex-football player Isaiah Mustafa have only grown more popular.
They've helped burnish the image of a tired old brand owned by Procter & Gamble of Cincinnati, and posed an additional challenge to the type of advertising once found only on television stations, such as the 23 owned by Gannett. Here's one:
Old Spice launched a social media blitz this past week that will have their YouTube videos being replayed for months, and other companies studying how they did it, Bloomberg BusinessWeek said in a recent story. By Friday morning, the videos -- produced by Portland, Ore.-based ad agency Wieden+Kennedy -- accounted for seven of the top 10 videos on YouTube.
"They showed everyone how to create viral videos," Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group, told BusinessWeek. "This was surprisingly good work from a brand that most folks had largely written off as obsolete. They created an entertaining video that also made the company appear new and trendy."
Related: Old Spice stories on The Cincinnati Enquirer's site. Plus: Old Spice's YouTube page
Earlier: How viral videos are killing TV ads, Part 1
Monday, July 19, 2010
7 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
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What does this have to do with Gannett again? Thanks for telling us about a week-old campaign that's already been reported by everyone with at least a dial-up connection already.
ReplyDeleteA new NPR segment this afternoon reminded me of the Gannett connection through TV and Cincy.
ReplyDeleteWhat this has to do with Gannett is that it is even more evidence of how business is using the new media, rather than the old. This explains the decline in ad revenue as venerable companies like P&G are making and circulating their own ads. P&G is a huge advertiser for us, so this is not a welcome development. It comes as little surprise to me, but if it works to revive old brands like Old Spice they will do more of this in house rather than newspaper, print or TV ads.
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ReplyDeleteI suppose, but I've seen those ads tons of time on actual TV -- running mostly on sports programming. Over the last few years, Old Spice has built a reputation for campy, tongue-in-cheek advertising -- cult actor Bruce Campbell did a series of funny ads for them.
ReplyDeleteYou do not create "viral" videos, or content. You can only create good content that you hope will get passed on. Time and again I hear editors pitch an inane idea for a video without thought into the story or storytelling.
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