Thursday, January 23, 2014

Smellcome to Manhood: An Old Spice Campaign

Wieden + Kennedy, the independent advertising agency that represents Old Spice and many other reputable companies, has released its brand new 2014 campaign for Old Spice titled: “Smellcome to Manhood.” A past campaign called “Smell Like a Man, Man,” was a recipient of the 2010 Cannes Lions Film Grand Prix and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Commercial. The breakthrough advertising campaign has been adored by millions worldwide and has made Old Spice the leading male body wash and deodorant brand in the United States. Unlike the 2010 campaign featuring former NFL wide receiver Isaiah Mustafa, this new campaign has no celebrity endorsers, but instead presents a choir of mothers serenading their sons while they interact with young women. To the dismay of the mothers, the new line of Old Spice Re-fresh Body Sprays has transformed their sweet sons into sexy men who misbehave with women. As the tagline says: “Spray goodbye to boyhood. Smellcome to Manhood.”

When I was first about to watch Old Spice’s new commercials, I knew what I was getting into. Old Spice commercials are known for being completely random and ridiculous, yet completely genius. The first time I watched the “Mom Song” commercial, I was confused and creeped out by all the singing moms, yet the song was already stuck in my head. This campaign exceeded my expectations in being strange. In my opinion, these Old Spice commercials may be the most mesmerizing and bizarre ones yet. They are so bizarre that they actually make me, a female, want to buy Old Spice products for no apparent reason. Wieden + Kennedy create strong and provocative advertising ideas that capture viewers’ attention and make the audience come back for more. This campaign is not an exception to this notion. The campaign they crafted is creative, unique, entertaining and just flat out weird, but that's what makes it so fantastic. 



The “Mom Song” has received over 7.6 million views on Old Spice’s YouTube page, which will continue to grow. With the Superbowl right around the corner, I look forward to more installments to this campaign and will keep an eye out for more Wieden + Kennedy genius in the future of advertising. 

1 comment:

  1. The first time I saw the Mom Song commercials I was in complete silence. I couldn't even fathom what was going on for awhile and was just mesmerized by the randomness. However, like you said, it was a fantastic ad and definitely was attention grabbing. I think Wieden and Kennedy do a great job of attracting consumers of both genders. Women are curious about how great the products smell and guys want to emulate the effects they see in the ads. Overall this was a hilarious campaign!

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