Hello ladies, how are you? (thx to Seattle Videographer for the Tip Off)

Well, It's official. The Old Spice Viral Campaign by Weiden Kennedy actually drove sales down. The drop was an immediate 7 percent according to Warc, an industry research group. - (source)

The reasons are obvious if you were raised off the teet of the web (oft called net-natives). The web user culture is totally different from the newspaper reader culture of yester-year. Weiden + Kennedy was culturally out of touch. Ironically, if David Ogilvy was at the helm, I doubt this would have happened - even though he is a 1960's ad man.

Why the Old Spice Viral Campaign Drove Sales Down

1. Stay Loyal to Your Core (warning: race discussion ahead)
If you have any market share at all, build on it.

Old Spice under Weiden + Kennedy created betrayal. Many of you are going to think the following words are nonsense but those who do aren't in my client demographic anyways so I'll spill the beans. Do you know what P&G Old Spice's Demographics are? I'm not sure but I do have a point sample of an idea. If you've been in any University Club, LA Fitness, or Equinox men's locker room with a bunch of naked dudes, and methodically stared at everyone's shopping cart every time you go shopping, you'd have a point sample idea too. It's a 50's and 60's crowd.

For a very small percent of the 50's and 60's white guys with some military background, "Mustafa" likely didn't go over well. I'm sure it's a small number but let's, for the sake of arguement, say only 2% of them were uncomfortable with "Mustafa." Then, from my subjective, non scientific analysis, these men in my gyms seem to be people who take themselves seriously. They range from old school executives to unionized blue collar workers. If the comical tone of the Weiden + Kennedy's ad only offended another 3% of their macho core, well, that would account for most of that 7% drop.

Personally, I have guy friends who are successful corporate African-Americans too. I know for a fact that a few of them use Old Spice. But after that silly messaging of a masculine product, I have a hunch they'd be as reluctant to walk through a checkout line with Old Spice as they would with a box of tampons. Are you on a horse?

How would the cash register boy react as one of my African American buddies tried to pay for his Old Spice? If you think I'm being silly, as a Korean American, my experience in the checkout line is occasionally different depending on whether I'm purchasing bread or rice. Do you have any idea how many times a checker asked me if I do kung fu; and 'what about Bob?' True story. 

The ad campaign made buying a regular brand embarrassing.

2. If You Target Another Demographic, Rebrand

You buy products because they are exclusive to your psychography. Guys who wear Ed Hardy shirts will not wear Polo.

I can't think of any situation where the only way to increase your market share is to betray your existing base. If you want to bolt on a totally different demographic, you do so by totally rebranding. Nissan created Infinity because they didn't want to lose their core and make Nissans feel inferior. Honda created Acura. Toyota created Lexus. McDonalds created Chipotle. 

You'll lose your core if you diffuse your marketing - even more so with a viral campaign. If you insist on keeping one brand while going after two demographics, at least do what Verizon Wireless and Subway did. Get a race-agnostic spokesperson.

Why The Heck Are They Addressing Women for a Men's Product Anyways?

3. W+K was so concerned with the medium that they forgot their message
The medium is just a medium. Whether you're on a street corner or in Carnegie Hall, the medium is just a medium. Focus on the message. Don't get distracted by the bells and whistles of the medium. W+K was in such a hurry to prove that their old-school culture was hip and relevant to "the parlance of our times" that they lost grasp of their message.

After a cursory review of any of their viral videos, it becomes clear that even their front line ad copy writers were confused as to who their target was. Mustafa generally begins his pitch, "Ladies." But the tagline is, "smell like a man, man."

Before you launch your next advertising or marketing initiative, let's talk. We might do well putting our heads together. Call 310 598 1606 or email bob.wan.kim@gmail.com 

CONTINUED: Actually, OldSpice Viral Marketing Raised Sales by 7%