Making a Movement.

Much has been written about w+k's Old Spice work, but they really pushed a great concept even further into the social stratosphere with Isaiah Mustafa's personalized responses to Tweets. The news that The Man Your Man Could Smell Like was responding to tweets in real-time blew the scent across the web, driving traffic to the YouTube page, and spreading the campaign further and faster.

Tweets or Facebook comments mentioning Old Spice were chosen strategically, with beautifully in character (hilarious) responses to influencers, from Ashton Kutcher (and in the words of Isaiah Mustafa - his gazillion followers), to Ellen Degeneres, the hit list of powerful bloggers and celebrities (and a few punters chucked in as well) went on and on (around 184 people actually), leading up to the grand finale, because "I am just one ridiculously handsome man. I can't write to everyone".



The Man Your Man Could Smell Like is a character that draws us into the absurd fantasy of advertising. It poked fun at itself, at the ridiculousness of it all, and with excellent copywriting and superb execution, made it rock and roll across screens. His responses worked so well because he was already known and loved, he was at the mustache wearing, horse-mounting height of attention - it was the opportune time to strike, and they hit a home run. A great idea will traverse and reverberate across channels, but it has to generate a certain level of awareness and celebrity before it can really soar. The Old Spice YouTube channel had 8,355,737 views and 83,197,201 upload views the last time I checked.



Perhaps the highest complement paid to the campaign are by the copycats already popping out of the woodwork. Check-out my fav below.