Old Spice Guy Bids Farewell To Fans After Achieving Social Media Domination

As quickly as Old Spice's video response campaign began on Tuesday, it ended Wednesday night as Old Spice guy posted a farewell video to fans. In a video response to "everyone", actor Isaiah Mustafa says, "Like all great things, this too must end." However, after dominating the social web for about 48 hours, uploading nearly 200 viral response videos to YouTube, receiving blog coverage and a barrage of comments and tweets, this campaign may be gone but won't soon be forgotten. Old Spice's campaign may well be one of the best social media campaigns of all time. ReadWriteWeb revealed how the whole production was organized: "A team of creatives, tech geeks, marketers and writers gathered in an undisclosed location in Portland, Oregon [to produce] short comedic YouTube videos about Old Spice. In real time. They leveraged Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and blogs. They dared to touch the wild beasts of 4chan and they lived to tell the tale. Even 4chan loved it. Everybody loved it; those videos...have now been viewed more than 4 million times and counting." Imagine that - 4 millions views and counting in less than two days. That really is incredible and shows just how viral and successful this campaign became. The Old Spice campaign should serve as an example to marketers and brands for years to come about just how powerful social media tools like Twitter and YouTube can be. The whole thing began with a single tweet, and quickly became an internet phenomenon. How did Old Spice know the right people to target in their response videos? The truth is, they didn't. Iain Tait, who worked on the project, told Adweek, "We don't have the answers of who the real influencers are in the world right now. We wanted to pick a cross-section where we could meet influencers in different areas." That's why they chose to make videos for authorities in entertainment (Perez Hilton), advertising (AdFreak), technology (4chan), celebrities (Ashton Kutcher), and the every day Joe. It seems that their selection process was a success! In his farewell video, Old Spice Guy says, "I know a lot of you have written me and commented on my works, but I am just one ridiculously handsome man. I can't write to everyone. But please know that I consider you my dearest and closest internet friends. I'll never forget this time we spent together. I love you, always." As the farewell video illustrates, Old Spice succeeded in reaching beyond advertising and creating a personal bond with the customers. Viewers felt connected to the videos, even if they weren't made about them personally, because they were made about customers and fans in general. Everyone felt like they were a part of the project because they could tweet to the Old Spice guy and comment on his videos, and everyone had an inkling of hope that maybe (just maybe) the next video released would be for them. I can't think of any social video campaign that has ever received this much coverage and excitement in such a short period of time. Old Spice, I salute you! Did you follow Old Spice's 2-day video response extravaganza? Do you think Old Spice, or any other brand, will ever be able to top this?

Social Pro Daily

Old Spice Guy Bids Farewell To Fans After Achieving Social Media Domination

Megan O'Neill

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Megan O'Neill