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Old Spice: Online Marketing Awesomeness

I’ve been meaning to write about this campaign for a while now. Haven’t had the time since I’ve been working pretty hard on ClickOgy and related projects. I will be writing about those in the near future.

The Old Spice campaign is awesome. Watch this video to grasp the impact and reach that it is having on the brand and its sales:

Respect.

To me, the three main factors responsible for the success of this campaign are:

  1. Isaiah Mustafa: The dude is brilliant. Obviously talented ex-NFL player, his career should take off from here.
  2. The agency, Wieden+Kennedy put together a coordinated assault on the demographics that they were targeting. The campaign was almost inescapable if you were part of their target.
  3. Hard Work. All involved worked their asses off. The logistics of their responses campaign baffles me. They pulled it off maintaining the branding, visuals and writing quality of the original spots.

Entertainment and marketing definitively collided here. As a result,

This Blog is Now Diamonds

Tu tu ru tu tu tu ru tu

[UPDATE] Just found out that they won an Emmy.

Comments that made me laugh: The 130 year old woman story

For me, one of the most entertaining things to do while web surfing is reading the commentary on news stories, YouTube videos or anywhere where vile, mean, evil, snarky comments are permitted.

It is specially funny when these types of comments catch me off guard. For example:

The Georgia Woman that claims to be 130 years old

The article talks about this very old lady and her (questionable) tale of survival. Some interesting facts from this unbelievable story:

  • Lives in a remote village and only speaks limited Mingrelian (a local language).
  • She has a 70 year old son, which means she gave birth when she was (only) 60 years old back in 1940.
  • She also has 10 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and six great, great grandchildren.
  • Her birth certificate is lost.

Anyways, here are three examples that made me laugh:

Example 1: He has a point

The last paragraph of the article actually reads:

“To mark the centurion’s birthday, a string ensemble played folk music out on the lawn, while grandchildren offered traditional Mingrelian dishes like corn porridge and spiced chicken with herbs to all guests as the party.”

Which prompted this comment:

Example 2: Could this be an ad?

Of course referring to this product.

Example 3: This guy is clearly excited

I bet Chavez's ears are Tweeting

Social Networks are reaching critical mass, the latest evidence can be seen with the huge impact that sites like twitter (virtually unknown just a few months ago… and still misunderstood by most), YouTube and Facebook are having on global opinion.

I started paying attention when Iran-related tweets started appearing on the trending topics section of twitter. People started getting fired up because mainstream media was not giving the story as much coverage as it deserved.

The networks reacted. It does not surprise me that most networks are now covering the story 24/7. Frankly, I am saturated… but quite happy.

  • I am happy that people care
  • Happy that so many Americans care
  • Happy that the media is covering what a large group of people consider to be relevant (versus their own agenda, for a change)

Which brings me to Venezuela and Chavez

Chavez has been successful in controlling the message. He was able to shut down the RCTV station 2 years ago without ruffling too many international feathers. I know, because I was getting my news updates on the subject via Venezuelan news papers, bloggers and a few glimpses of Globovision. Virtually nothing on US media.

Globovision is the last standing TV network that openly criticizes Chavez and his regime. Globovision’s days are numbered.

Watching these events unfold is certainly interesting. I hope that the People of Iran get treated fairly. I feel that their chances are better thanks in part to:

  • The clumsy and oppressive hand of their rulers
  • The awesome way in which technology has meshed with social networks (cellphones + cameras + the social web)
  • The elections in Iraq and Afghanistan

A successful Iran can be the tipping point for Venezuela and other countries in desperate need of change.