continued from http://journik.posterous.com/viral-old-spice-commercials-by-weiden-kennedy

my unscientific guess is that the numbers would be much higher if

Or did it?

BrandWeek writes: "But sales of the featured product—Red Zone After Hours Body Wash—aren’t necessarily tracking with that consumer appeal: In the 52 weeks [that] ended June 13, sales of the brand have dropped 7 percent according to SymphonyIRI. (That amount excludes those rung up at Walmart.)"

Ladies, how are you? I may be mistaken but I'm pretty sure June 13, 2010 is before the whole @oldspice viral campaign started.

So picking back up on the 13th, PRWEEK writes, "Beginning July 13, Mustafa responded to questions, funneled through Twitter, from celebrities and ordinary folks alike. The brand's ad agency Wieden + Kennedy developed and coordinated 186 customized video responses that contributed to a 107% increase in Old Spice Body Wash sales over the last month, according to Nielsen data from Mike Norton, director of external relations for male grooming at P&G"

Time and Jezebel contradict that data citing WARC (a media industry research group), "But buzz did not add up to sales, according to advertising news service WARC. Red Zone After Hours body wash sales have fallen seven percent, despite the ads." - Time

Jezebel goes a step further and attributes causation: "While there is little doubt about the viral hit's popularity - the official version has racked up 12.2 million impressions on YouTube - sales of Red Zone After Hours Body Wash have fallen by 7%." - Jezebel

Look at your man.

The trouble with the WARC quotes is that I can't seem to find the original data source online. So what we're dealing with here is heresay. But regardless of whether sales went up or down, let's look at the facts.

1. P&G research shows that women are the ones who buy the shower gels of the house - as much as 70%. But the slogan is still, "Smell like a man, man."

2. The Weiden Kennedy campaign alienates it's current user base (via http://journik.posterous.com/viral-old-spice-commercials-by-weiden-kennedy ).Old Spice was originally produced by the Schulton Company in 1934. And some of the user base acquired since then will drop any product rep'd by someone named "Mustafa." In another sector of the current user base, anyone who remotely looks like the Old Spice Guy runs the risk of being asked by the cashier, "are you on a horse?"

So even if the numbers are up, my unscientific guess is that the numbers would be much higher if P&G and W+K paid attention to the undercurrent of their messaging. If you lose your core market and make strategic planning errors, you've left money on the table. You Failed: Old Spice Viral Ad Campaign Strategically Failed.

Back to me. Now, look at @kmore and @whatsnext. Does your man smell like them?