The Campaign Your Campaign Could Smell Like

The social media scene is abuzz regarding the success Wieden + Kennedy is having as a result of a remarkable viral campaign for the Old Spice brand. Earlier this year, W + K launched a clever campaign spotlighting Isaiah Mustafa as “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.”

A few weeks ago came “The Return of the Man Your Man Could Smell Like.”

The official Old Spice YouTube channel posts of the ads have garnered over 13,399,000 and 6,400,000 views, respectively. Having created a hilarious character that people have come to love, W + K decided to up the ante even further by letting Old Spice fans interact with the gent of a fine scent by responding to fan-submitted questions on the Old Spice YouTube channel. That campaign launched two days ago. So far, there have been over 6 million views of the over 180 responses to questions. I’ve included a couple of my favorites below:

According to Visible Measures, the campaign (specifically, responding to fan questions directly) has become one of the fastest-growing online video campaigns of all time.

But why?

According to Mashable.com, the popular social media blog, it may be because of how positive the campaign is. “Most viral videos are shocking, disturbing and/mocking of their subject. There’s none of that here. Instead of trying to trick folks into sharing content by creating something shocking or over-the-top or coasting along on an established viral meme and attaching a product to it, Old Spice first created a character that people — shock, shock, horror, horror — liked, and then created an immersive experience that people wanted to be a part of.”

I couldn’t agree more. And what’s even better, the campaign is already “over.” Rather than have it drag on and become more of a nuisance, W + K finished off with the following response:

So what are your thoughts? Do you like the approach? Is it over too soon? Let us know!