Old Spice? Yes, if you are a baby boomer, Old Spice was your dad’s after shave lotion. It was of an era where masculinity was akin to images of the sea and the great courage of sailing tall ship vessels. Huh? For real…
Enter the 60′s when few mod girls wanted their guys smelling like their uncool “establishment” dads. And the 70′s disco era brought on designer fragrances like Pierre Cardin with its phallic-shaped bottle conjuring up images of bare-chested, disco-dancing John Travolta, not dear old dad.
Tough market. The 80′s and the 90′s weren’t any more friendly; Old Spice was what grandpa smelled like, not Rick Springfield or Kurt Cobain. Old Spice seemed dead in the water never to be resurrected again. Until…2010 and one of the most brilliant brand revivals ever staged. Maybe it is because most original Old Spice wearers are long gone, may they rest in peace. Or maybe it is the brilliance of branding–specifically writing and casting–that has put Old Spice back on the map. Whatever it it, a brand that seemed all but gone is back.
As if the first ads touting the product weren’t breakthrough enough, enter Isaiah Mustafa, the man your man could smell like and his follow-up YouTube responses to viewer comments. Videos feature “the man” in his iconic towel answering real posts from Justine Bateman, Alyssa Milano, George Stephanopoulos, and others. Well written, well executed, once you watch one, you’ll watch them all. And share them too. What a fantastic use of social media and video.
Officially, we’ll call Old Spice a brand resurrected, made relevant, and desirable to a whole new market of people who have no clue that Old Spice smelled like their grandfathers. Branding magic at its best.
What is branding? Heart & Mind® Branding.
Hey, that’s poerwful. Thanks for the news.