A Social Media Ad Campaign That Worked On Me

A couple of years ago, I saw what I thought was one of the funniest, most random commercials I've seen in a while.  It was Old Spice's "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like."  In case you aren't familiar with the brand, Old Spice is a brand of men's deodorants, and I've only seen it in the U.S.  If you still aren't familiar with what kind of product I am talking about, you're probably French.  (just kidding!)
 I first saw the ad during the 2010 Superbowl, and soon after I headed to YouTube so I could share it with friends.  I was kind of surprised to find that Old Spice actually had their own official channel, but I shrugged that off and continued to forward the link to anyone I met over the next several months who hadn't seen the commercial.  (My life was really mundane working on Wall Street...)

What was crazy is that after a fairly short time, Old Spice's YouTube channel started having more and more uploaded videos - short ads that weren't all aired on TV.  Then in 2011, Old Spice had some dedicated YouTube campaigns, including a Fabio vs. the old Old Spice man series, and MANta Clause more recently.

Anyway, I am a dedicated user of Old Spice now and stocked up on my supply before coming to Fonty.  Here's the original video if you're interested (38.6 million views):

The YouTube campaign was seen as a success, and within five months after the original ad was aired during the Superbowl, Old Spice's monthly sales more than doubled.

Another link:  5 Marketing Lessons from Old Spice