One of the first ads Beyond Urban Branding critiqued, was a horrible "swagger" ad by Old Spice featuring LL Cool J. I really was sad to see Cool J and Old Spice blow such an opportunity. Well, someone else on the ad team at Old Spice must have hated the Cool J campaign just as much. I think this one dropped during or right after the Super Bowl.
Old Spice bounced back hard recently by releasing this ad with a fast talking, well built African American guy. "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" campaign is just as funny as it is creative as it is psychologically playful. I'd love for someone to review all of the changing elements in the ad. He starts in a shower, then ends up on a boat and then on the beach on a horse. He holds an oyster that opens up and has concert tickets that morph into a handful of diamonds and then he's holding Old Spice. I bet Freud and Jung could write volumes about this ad.
The thing I found most interesting about this campaign is that its a mainstream ad. Not a fringe ad for the Black community to consume. He is seen openly as sexy and desirable. He is deemed a man women would want on site. This is pretty huge for a mainstream brand that has traditionally appealed (at least in my head) to a White middle class demographic. The ad has become a viral monster online. The youtube clip I have has more than 5 million views. And its posted all over the net. Enjoy it! Congrats to Old Spice for getting it right. Don't call it a comeback...LOL
-Beyond Urban Branding
beyondurban@gmail.com
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