This week’s video features the face of Isaiah Mustafah, who is more popularly known as the Old Spice Guy. This man was catapulted into Internet fame when the viral video advertising the Old Spice body wash became an overnight sensation. After getting millions of hits in the span of 24 hours, practically everyone on the Internet wanted to smell like the man they could smell like. Before we move on, let’s take a look at the video:
This video never gets old for me somehow. Anyway, here a few points about this viral video that I want us to take a look at:
PROS:
- Short and sweet – Since commercials are only given a short time to catch the viewers’ attention, it has to deliver a strong enough impact to leave a lasting impression after they watch it. Oh, and what an impact this ad makes! All of its subsequent follow up videos follow in the same suit and shows that all it needs is about half a minute to get you to watch it and then share it to all your friends, family, neighbors and even their dog.
- The “Lady’s man” tactical approach – Right from the start, the video states that this ad targets the ladies even though the actual target market of Old Spice is for men. The company did a little research and found out that women make most of the household purchasing decisions even for their men, so it was a smart decision to specifically address the ladies with this kind of advertising campaign. What’s more, they’ll probably want to share this video with their man (in the hopes of getting their man to smell like the man they could possibly smell like) since it’s just that awesome.
- Everybody loves it – There’s a reason why this initial commercial is considered the fastest growing online viral videos out there to date. In the span of 24 hours, this video reached over 6.4 million views and has since then garnered around 36 million views. After all, who doesn’t want to watch a good looking guy with only a towel wrapped around him, speaking nonchalantly about the values of smelling as good as him if you buy Old Spice. This ad did a great job of generating enough buzz for people to share it all over the Internet and create one of the company’s most successful ad campaigns launched.
CONS:
- It’s blatantly corporate – Come on. Nobody’s ever going to believe that this video was really shot in the bathroom of some incredibly hot and half naked guy. The one thing that commercials that have gone viral have in common is that they’re the product of a big budget corporate production with the sole purpose of getting consumers to buy their respective product. Underneath it all, it doesn’t exactly give off a friendly and casual air despite its popular appeal since it is trying to sell you something after all.
- So what did I learn again after watching this? – One of the inherent things that commercial advertisements lack is the ability to leave their viewers enriched after watching it. Sure you’ll get a few dozen laughs after watching them, but it doesn’t really teach you anything substantial in the end. And no, I refuse to believe that it will teach you to smell just like Isaiah Mustafah if you buy his body wash. That’s just what commercials do: entice their viewers by making a successful pitch and get them to buy their product. However, I have to say that this particular ad does so incredibly well.
At least now we all know what it’s like to smell like a millionaire jet fighter pilot thanks to this video. Despite its openly commercial approach to its consumers, it’s got loads of entertainment value for the 30 seconds of screen time that it has. It’s been spoofed several times and has turned the name Old Spice Guy into one of the most recognizable brands on the Internet. This is definitely a true blue viral video if there ever was one.
Later,
Andy “I’m on a Horse” Jenkins
