Adding New Life to Old Spice

It's been heralded as the best social media campaign to date. "To date" because we can't really say "ever" because all of this is so new. Someone will come along soon and up the game, which is the great part about marketing.

But for now, let's pay homage to the recent campaign for Old Spice. I'm not going to call it a social media campaign, though, as others have, because it's so much bigger than that. It's a full-on marketing experience.

It started out as a traditional advertising campaign just a few months ago, when we first met the new Old Spice Guy. Cleverly written, the campaign pulled people in, with social media circles all a buzz, including YouTube and Twitter. We didn't know at the time that this was just the tip of the iceberg.

Suddenly, Old Spice Guy started responding to tweets, and then started making video responses to tweets. These videos are hysterical and really bring to life the character that started out on a :30 television spot.

The chatter is now off the charts, with virtually everyone commenting not only on the videos but also on the marketing. Getting consumers to retweet a question and then creating a custom video response for them is approaching the ultimate in brand commitment, engagement, and experience, IMHO.

Me? I love the synergy and the consistency. The brand created a new character, completely in keeping with the Old Spice personality but with a modern (yet retro) feel. So good. And then the brand used this new character across multiple touchpoints to represent the brand in places where they could engage with consumers.

Then as quickly as it all got started, the character makes a video announcing that his run has come to an end. Hmmmm. Will we see him again or does the brand get the notion of "quit while you're ahead"

Such a good use of not only social media, but of weaving in other marketing elements as well, and proof once again that traditional advertising isn't dead -- it's just a matter of how you use it.

You can catch a video or two here.

What's your experience? Jim