Old Spice

Communicating to the Target Audience – Defining the Old Spice Guy Old Spice has been a venerable man’s man brand since World War II. Unfortunately, this was not looked at as a positive by guys 18–34, who comprise much of the Lee Jeans male target as well. Old Spice was seen as their dad’s or even grandfather’s brand, and while its efficacy may have beat the competitors, its positioning was not appealing. We had to overhaul the brand image to target young men.

OBJECTIVE
Turn around sales of Old Spice antiperspirant/deodorant by expanding the target beyond 50-year-old men and making the brand cool again. Capture a leading share of the antiperspirant/deodorant market.

ISSUE
A young male target could not identify with a product used by their grandfathers during World War II. We had to show not only that Old Spice beat the competitors on scent and efficacy, but that the brand was cool enough to use.

INSIGHT
We developed a bull’s-eye target of 18–24, the key ages that teenagers aspire to and older guys can look back on nostalgically as some of the best years of their lives. The truth for guys at any age is that they care what girls think about them. And how you smell goes a long way to establishing that first impression.

CREATIVE CHALLENGE
Make Old Spice a guy’s essential grooming product when he wants attention.

THE RESULTS
Through a holistic campaign that includes TV, print, web, and partnerships with other marketers like NASCAR and EA Sports, Old Spice is now the nation’s leading deodorant and antiperspirant brand, with 20% of the market share. Perhaps most importantly, our campaign has built a strong brand umbrella, allowing for flankers and extensions that pick-up the same strategy. In the soap and bodywash category, we’ve launched a dozen SKUs, which comprise 58% of the category. These products represent 54% of that category’s growth over the past year.