Old Spice has dominated the men’s hygiene product world for almost a century, but it didn’t start as a product for men. In 1937, Old Spice launched the Early American Old Spice product lines for women. The following year, the company added the men’s line, including shaving soap, aftershave, cologne, and talc. From this line grew the Old Spice Original which most older men have grown to love.
For the next 40 years, Old Spice was an iconic men’s fragrance. But, as the decades went by, the target audience for Old Spice began to age.
In 1990, Proctor & Gamble (P&G) bought the Old Spice brand. They created the legendary slogan, “The original. If your grandfather hadn’t worn it, you wouldn’t exist.” This video campaign continued for over a decade. It became an iconic brand of American culture.
Quickly P&G stumbled upon a new dilemma. As the Old Spice Original target audience grew older, their consumer base got smaller. So how could they reach a new, younger target audience? Axe body spray dominated young men’s body washes and colognes.
P&G hired creativity company Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) to kickstart a new campaign, Old Spice Swagger, to compete with Axe body spray. Old Spice Swagger features NFL linebacker, Brian Urlacher. This campaign increased their target audience.
Once P&G shifted Old Spice’s brand repositioned to a much younger audience, they focused on consumer behaviors. Market research done by W+K uncovered some critical insight. They discovered 60 % of body wash purchases are done by women. This discovery led to W+K asking one crucial question.
“How could we provoke a conversation between couples?”
Wieden+Kennedy
From this question, the campaign The Man Your Man Could Smell Like was created. This ad dropped a few days before the Super Bowl, which left many people talking. This early release was a brilliant plan by P&G because no Super Bowl body wash ad could compare.
The insight behind this ad was a success. It pushed women to buy Old Spice products for their men. I, myself, buy Old Spice for my spouse. This ad resonates nostalgia with me because my father used Old Spice Original. The Old Spice brand repositioned, which allowed me to comfortably buy the product for my spouse without the constant reminder of my father.
The brand planning team learned how to take a statistic – how much women buy body wash – then apply it to a new way to advertise. W+K was successful in marketing a men’s product to women. According to P&G, The Man Your Man Can Smell Like campaign presented extraordinary results:
- 300 % increase in traffic to oldspice.com
- 800 % increase in Facebook fan interaction
- 2700 % increase in Twitter followers
- 1.2 billion earned media impressions, including features on national broadcast networks and international media outlets
- Nearly 105 million YouTube views of the campaign
- Old Spice has become the #1 Most Viewed Sponsored YouTube Channel
Though P&G, W+K, and Old Spice have had great success over the past decade, some people struggle to connect with this new campaign. For example, older generations might find it challenging to engage with ads targeted at young generations. Another missed target audience may include single men and women. I’m sure P&G and W+K are aware of these neglected markets and are currently working on the next BIG IDEA!
Overall, Old Spice advertisements have been a joy to watch over the years. I look forward to the next production of campaigns. I wonder how P&G will reposition Old Spice for the next generation.
Borisov, S. (2019). The beginning of A Legend: Early American Old spice ~ Vintages ~ FRAGRANTICA. Fragrantica. Retrieved September 17, 2021, from https://www.fragrantica.com/news/The-Beginning-of-a-Legend-Early-American-Old-Spice-12293.html.
Moore, S. (2020, July 13). The campaign that saved Old Spice. Medium. Retrieved September 17, 2021, from https://bettermarketing.pub/the-campaign-that-saved-old-spice-d925bed9aee8.
Norton, M. (2011). P & G Latest Innovations. Old Spice. Retrieved from https://legacymt.pg.com/pgcom-en-us/downloads/innovation/factsheet_OldSpice.pdf.
Jessica Kupcake 