Old Spice has the POWER!

Old Spice, once a dying brand (because their core customers were actually dying), was associated with the seniors and was shunned by the young. But yet now it is hard to find a digital native that has never heard of Old Spice. Since its re-branding campaign that took Youtube by storm in 2010, the Old Spice Youtube channel has had close to 297 million views.

Th re-branding campaign featured former NFL wide receiver, Isiah Mustafa, as the Old Spice Guy. The campaign was a great application of  both video and social media. It captivated the audience with creative and spontaneous videos and gave personalised marketing through social media.

The ads had the winning formula, which made the campaign spread like wildfire across the Internet. Allowing Old Spice to become the top brand on consumer’s minds when it came to scented body products for men for the rest of that year. The buzz around the brand was astounding. But there were skeptics that felt the brand couldn’t maintain its position once the hype of the campaign died down.

Old Spice answered the skeptics with another Youtube and social media driven campaign in 2011 (if its not broken don’t fix it right?). They cleverly put a twist to the Old Spice Guy relationship with fans. Introducing Fabio, the contesting new Old Spice guy, asking Isiah out for a duel. Fabio is a long shot from Isiah Mustafa and is a tad bit thick-headed, though he does entertain in his own disturbing way. This entry of the ‘bad guy‘  rejuvenated the 2010 campaign in an uproar of support from Isiah’s fans.

(click here for a full list of Fabio’s ads)

The campaign saw the two fighting to respond to the Old Spice fans and ended in a challenge for the most number of votes (which was not really a challenge after all, since most people hated Fabio). The campaign ended with a face to face confrontation between Fabio and Isiah.

The revival campaign in 2011 was a success and it got the Internet buzzing over Old Spice again. Old Spice had the winning formula for marketing the brand and at a low cost too, due to the usage of Youtube to host their videos and responses.

They carried on their whacky and entertaining commercials in 2012 and hired a new spokesperson, actor and former NFL player, Terry Crews to promote their line of deodorant. The brand first introduced Terry Crews as its new spokesperson through creatively outrageous TV commercials.

These commercials were once again loved by the public and it spread through the social networks quickly. Just recently in August, Old Spice worked with online video player, Vimeo, and released an interactive viral video into the online social sphere. The video allowed viewers to use various parts of Terry’s body to make music after the advert finished playing. Viewers are encouraged to record and share their music with their friends (here’s why it became viral).

Wieden & Kennedy, the ad agency responsible for all these great campaigns from Old Spice, has won numerous awards like the 2011 annual Effie awards and the 2011 Adcolor awards.

I hope they will keep the zany and creative ads coming! How about you? What do like most about the Old Spice campaigns? Let me know by leaving a comment!

Mini Cooper Riding The Social Wave

I am a great fan of gamification and guerrilla advertising. Making it no surprise that I am a fan of Mini Cooper’s advertising campaigns. Here are some amazing examples of their past ads.

The objective of this case study is to shed light on how they have rode the social wave like a boss. Most of Mini’s campaigns have very strong emphasis on word of mouth to spread the campaign message.

In 2002, Mini used unconventional tactics to create a buzz for its retro-looking Mini Cooper. At that time it meant creative billboards with an actual Mini stuck on them, innovative magazine and newspaper inserts that consumers can detach to share and 45 to 60 second cinema spots. The campaigns managed to generate hype but the reach was generally confined nationally.

In 2003, Mini moved their brilliance online. Recognizing the rise of Internet consumption and the shift of more advertising dollars to online, they broke free from standard banners and executed a digital campaign that cut through the cluttered digital space. With the traditional ad pop ups becoming a norm, they created their ad pop up to  spin and flip onto the screen instead. Breaking the monotony and then engaging the consumer with an interactive banner showcasing the Mini’s attributes. The result? A fun and unique experience online. The campaign went viral and was spread globally.

Then came the social networking era. With social media becoming one of the primary channels of communication and with a  user spending an average of 15 hours and 33 minutes per month on social sites. Mini knew they had to engage users where they thrive.

In 2010, Mini embraced social media and took Stockholm by storm, transforming it into a living game board for 7 days. Offering a Mini Countryman as the grand prize.

A great example of gamification and the application of social media. Apart from traditional advertising, the game got around through the use of Youtube. A video was uploaded explaining how the app worked and quickly got over 100,000 views. They also teamed with a radio station and the radio hosts talked about the campaign each day the week before it started, and followed it during the whole game week. But they knew the campaign needed additional social boost. Enter Tejbz, one of the world’s most successful and hyped gamers with more than 129,000 fans on his page. They engaged him to play the game and spread the word.

The result?
– During the game week 11,413 people participated.
– The virtual MINI was transported nearly 1,500 physical kilometers.
– Average gaming time was 5 hours and 6 minutes per person.
– People from 90 countries followed the game on our website minigetawaystockholm.com.
– Sales increased with 108% the first quarter after the campaign (record sales in Sweden).

For their creative use of social media, the Mini campaign won numerous awards. What really set their campaign apart is the simplicity and the revival of a childhood game. They reduced the number of hoops the consumers have to go through so that they can go straight to the fun. In short, Mini placed the consumers’ fun ahead of all else. With such success in Stockholm, they revived the game last year and brought it to Tokyo.

Sure hope that I’ll get a chance to play it soon.