Old Spice’s New Lives

When it comes to seasons, spring is typically thought of as an awakening. As the pandemic comes to a close, here’s how Old Spice applies this attitude to its latest marketing push.

The personal care brand paired up with Snap Inc. to create seven unique augmented reality experiences—one for each of the seven characters in its recently redesigned “Wild Collection” of deodorants. The redesign is part of the label’s “Smell Ready for Anything” campaign, which began earlier this year to help men manifest their own greatness with the confidence provided by long-lasting scents from Old Spice. Users can scan each new deodorant to see the respective characters come to life, complete with unique personalities and a message to viewers encouraging them to find their tribe. The first two redesigns of “Wild Collection”, called Bearglove and Krakengard, rolled out exclusively at Walmart during the holiday shopping season, with the complete collection now available at retailers nationwide.

Snap said the campaign resulted in an average playtime of six times above benchmarks and share rates of more than five times above benchmarks. The collection is being promoted via good-old-fashioned in-store displays paired with a Snapcode—a nod to the physical-meets-digital hybrid marketing strategy many brands are tapping into as the conclusion of the pandemic nears. Each snapcode unlocks a unique portal lens experience, with dedicated rooms for each Old Spice line—Dynasty, Fresh, Swagger and Wild—for Snapchat users to explore in AR. The brand even set up a LinkedIn profile for its Director of Marketing, Mr. Wolfdog, an actual wolfdog who stars as the face of the new collection.

The revamp reflects a time of reawakening that is equal parts due to the nature of spring and equal parts due to the proximity of the end of the pandemic. Where once brands leaned into hero and classic products, the potential end of the pandemic provides an opportunity to breathe new life into these products, or even create completely new ones. Old Spice, which boasts a spot in the Gifted class of Gartner’s Digital IQ Index: Personal Care, successfully blends both these attitudes into its newest campaign, plus an added level of creativity based on its unique and adventurous characters (with names like Wolfthorn and Dragonblast) that could inspire consumers to embrace life post-pandemic. Personal care brands looking to stand out on the shelves as consumers return to color cosmetics should consider levelling up their creativity for their next content push.