"I'm curious what overall Old Spice numbers are like. The Brand Week quote mentions figures for Red Zone After Hours Body Wash, but I think most people miss that connection and simply see it as an old spice commercial. Hence, when they go to shop they aren't looking for that specific one -- they're just grabbing old spice. Anyways, just a theory.

Cheers,

Chris from Little Five"

- Chris Allison

"I think we need more time to figure out whether or not this campaign is a success. Dos Equis is killing it right now with their "Most Interesting Man in the World" but they have been pushing that campaign since 2007."

- Craig Johnson

"That was actually a bad stat. Sales were up over 100% on the month...that article was way off..."

- Jeremiah

"It's all numbers. Everything needs to tie into leads and sales. I hate how people love a campaign or a commercial but can't tell you who the company was. I do this all the time to people. "Hey, remember that commercial of this kid with the block pinewood derby car who wins against the fancy pinewood derby car?" "Oh yeah! it's cute!" "Who's the commercial for?" "...uh..." - A good commercial brings in sales. Awareness doesn't pay the electric bill. Oh and the answer is "Suburu""

- Eric

"Jeremiah, where did you get that 100% stat? I find it interesting that they only talk about sales for Red Zone After Hours Body Wash, rather than Old Spice sales overall."

- Craig Johnson

"I was just talking about this very thing with a client this morning. We launched a promotion for a product of his, brought in traffic and saw some viral sharing but the bottom line numbers where not improving in the same relation to the amount of traffic. Because our goal, key perspective being "our goal," was to drive immediate sales... we pulled back and reexamined. Something was off. It didn't add up. We could have kept going and created more "awareness" by way of traffic but traffic alone was not what we wanted. We wanted immediate sales. So now we're on the path to find the gap and fix it.

Point being... traffic does not always translate into results if the results are the desire to have an immediate impact on sales. However, results is a widely defined term and needs to be measured against the stick it's based upon."

- Daniel Decker

"http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/direct/e3i45f1c709df0501927f56568a2acd5c7b

I think the -7% figure was created by picking one day in '09 and one day in '10 when the sales were lower for that exact 'scent' from the commercial. But I saw that on tv and can't back it up...

That said, 107% monthly increase as well as a turning point in large brand development (maybe forever) is an unbelievable success in my opinion."

- Jeremiah Sizemore

"I think it was really interesting that everyone considered this a social media campaign. In reality this was a traditional television campaign that was re-purposed for a little buzz via YouTube.

I would like to know what their stated goals for the effort were. And whether or not they feel like they could have had the same success without the Old Spice brand already attached to the product."

- austinklee

"Just because it began with a tv campaign doesn't mean it's not a social media campaign as well. You don't always have to whip something up out of thin air; if you have some great brand assets, leverage them."

- Chris Allison

"Love the spot & like Old Spice stuff in general...but the actual package of the body wash product is a bit clunky. I hate picking up 16+ OZ up and down in the shower....I am all about light and or some squirt action....so they could use usability study on their packaging, that may have some effect on sales."

- Roy

"the brandweek article cites -7% in a 12-month year-on-year scale, but then a 55% increase the past 3 months and 107% in the past 30 days, so it seems that based on sales the initial results are successful.

and the integration of broadcast & social media, combined with couponing seems a smart way to have multiple channels converge when attention is high - not rocket science by any means, just good planning for an overall campaign, not just social media.

their commitment to follow up via social media with all of the responses is great, though, and shows an understanding of how to engage over periods of time and not just posting an ad.

as for the long-term results, let's not forget that to some degree it depends on whether people like the scent of the product. i like a lot of beer commercials but if the beer has no taste i'm not buying. should old spice mess with the product as well as the brand positioning?"

- davepalmerinc

"I think there's no doubt that it has increased brand awareness for Old Spice, because whenever I hear someone refer to the campaign, its always "the Old Spice commercials"—so in that sense, they hit it out of the park. Whilst I enjoyed the campaign immensely, have I been persuaded to actually go buy the product? Unfortunately, not in the least. And I don't think I will even after increased exposure over the long run. I already use Old Spice deodorant (so no increase in sales from me, but they won't lose me) and I already have my favorite soap that I don't intend to ever change and I use whatever cologne (when I wear it), that my wife tells me to."

- Russell Heistuman

"I agree with Craig's comment. This Old Spice campaign needs more time.

Here's another article:
http://www.fastcompany.com/1674547/the-most-interesting-man-in-the-world-dos-equis"

- Laura

"Yep. Needs more time to gestate. How often do people even purchase body wash/deodorant? Once every few months? You can't expect immediate results considering the product they're actually selling."

- JB

"Great comments by all here. One curiosity I have about this entire campaign by P&G is that it didn't seem to largely impact my buying experience. It got my excited about Old Spice again. Then I went into the aisle and saw the same boring, junky looking red packaging - smelled it - and bought my regular body wash. Wieden + Kennedy did their job...they got me to look for Old Spice in the aisle. But the brand experience of the actual packaging and product was a disconnect. Nothing remarkable there. I wish they had kept the old school cologne bottle shape, made it look very retro (like what I imagine my grandpa using) and given it a very classic smell. For me, the product itself felt no different than the competition. So I'll have my laugh, and keep using my regular body wash."

- Dustin Britt