In recent years, Old Spice has reinvented itself through highly creative marketing campaigns that are quirky, entertaining, and appeal to a younger demographic. The company picked up Terry Crews and Isaiah Mustafa in 2010, but the fiercely different advertising personas hadn’t meet until last summer’s Make A Smellmitment campaign. Featuring both actors in the same campaign was a great way to reinforce brand equity amongst previous fans while minimizing production costs.
The cross-promotional campaign features a rivalry between the explode-in-your-face antics of Terry (for Old Spice Bear Glove) and the cool and suave style of Isaiah (for Old Spice Timer and Swagger). The two are constantly “interrupting” each other’s commercials to sell their respective Old Spice scents, and the result is a highly entertaining experience that ties together previously opposing narratives in a slapstick comical way.
Here’s the first ad:
And So It Begins:
A couple from the middle:
Checkmate:
Windsurfing:
And the last ad in the campaign:
Truce:
"...and you see the differences, [gesturing towards Isaiah] smooth [to himself] a little rough... it's like spicy meets sweet, and it'd make a great barbecue sauce!"
-Terry Crews, Old Spice, Make a Smellmitment: Behind The Scenes
If you’d like to check out the whole campaign, click here!
Thanks for reading,
-JS
