GLOBAL – JULY 29, 2011 – In recent years, Old Spice has reinvented itself, making it synonymous to successful and engaging commercials, thanks largely to the creative team at Wieden + Kennedy Portland. From Neil Patrick Harris to Old Spice Guy Isaiah Mustafa, Old Spice went out on a limb and never looked back. Risk was certainly paramount in the latest campaign, "Mano a Mano in El Baño".
Featuring Isaiah Mustafa and famous Italian model Fabio, the campaign centered on a duel for the title of Old Spice Guy. Beginning on July 25 and ending just two days later, a series of YouTube videos featuring both men were released on the Old Spice YouTube channel. As in the now-legendary "Responses" campaign of 2010, the two men responded to YouTube tweets and encourage viewers to show their support. The rules were simple: whoever gained the most votes will be crowned the real Old Spice Guy.
Critics were initially puzzled when Fabio was introduced as the New Old Spice Guy last week with four spots that were so bad they were good, but as the purpose of the gimmick became clear, the campaign was received with enthusiasm in the form of thousands of tweets, blog posts, and YouTube views, comments and likes. The votes were tallied over the three-day period, resulting in the ultimate win for Isaiah Mustafa, who had the upper hand because of the popularity of his previous commercials (not to mention a fabulous physique and humorous delivery of witty lines).
Mustafa won by a landslide, tallying 532,181 total views on his Team Old Spice videos, over 400,000 more views than the Team Fabio video received. W+K Portland even gave this ending a science fiction treatment.
Will the campaign sell the products? That sounds like the wrong question to ask. At this point, Old Spice has achieved its goal: make something tired feel new again and get the public to weigh in on what is best for the brand. Goodbye, Fabio. And Old Spice Guy, you deserve that vacation.
