A New Marketing

To continue Old Spice’s new look and re-branding, they’ve re-released their body wash with a new package and a new ad campaign.

I love it. The scary music, the dramatic cuts, the slow reveal of the soap, it all builds to the “aww gross!” moment. It’s semi-shocking, but definitely gets your attention. The moral of the story? Use Old Spice body wash and no more hairy soap. Wow. As a member of their target market, I can honestly say that this ad resonates with almost every younger guy.

I like this ad, and more importantly, I like where it fits in with Old Spice’s new direction. The “Experience” campaign, with the ever-cool Bruce Campbell (check him out in USA’s Burn Notice) has given new life to a lagging brand. Old spice was getting clobbered and needed something to combat AXE’s edgy, sexy appeal. Their answer? Old-school with a touch of class and sass. Check out the old and new body spray designs:

Old Spice was smart here in recognizing that you can’t win by following the leader. Their move was similar to Nintendo’s with the Wii because they decided to go in a different direction. Sometimes the answer isn’t overtaking the leader in your niche, but either taking a different angle at the same niche or finding a different one all together.