The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
Old Spice (Procter & Gamble)2010
The Man Your Man Could Smell Like is a 2010 30-second commercial and response-video campaign for Old Spice, created by Wieden+Kennedy, Portland.
The line
Look at your man, now back to me... I'm on a horse.
Why it works
A single unbroken-looking take that rebuilt a dated brand in 30 seconds. Isaiah Mustafa addresses the camera — "Hello, ladies" — while the scene transforms around him from bathroom to boat to beach, ending on a horse, in a monologue aimed at women who actually buy body wash for men. Released on Old Spice's YouTube channel in February 2010 around the Super Bowl, it turned an old-man brand into the most talked-about property in advertising; W+K then answered fans with nearly 200 personalized video replies from Mustafa in character, an early landmark of real-time brand response. It is studied for its production craft (practical transitions, one performer carrying the spot), for targeting the purchaser rather than the user, and for fusing TV craft with internet-native distribution. It won the Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix in 2010 and the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Commercial.
Techniques
- Humour Speaking straight to women, a spokesman glides from bathroom to boat to beach to horseback in an absurd monologue that revives a dated brand.
- Real-time and newsjacking The agency then answers fans with nearly 200 personalised video replies from the spokesman in character, responding to the conversation as it unfolds.
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