Last year’s advertising sensation will soon make its 2011 debut, as Old Spice’s suave, shirtless star returns in round three of his commercials for the Procter & Gamble Co. brand.
In an indicator of the campaign’s popularity, there first is a 30-second “coming attractions”-type trailer going online Wednesday which takes you beyond former football player Isaiah Mustafa’s muscular torso — to his “striking brown eyes,” if he does say so himself.
In another effort to keep the buzz going for the YouTube hit, a yet-to-be-named “superfan” will get to debut the commercial on his or her own social network page or feed, sometime before Super Bowl Sunday.
The first of three commercials in the new promotion will start running on television Feb. 7, the day after the Super Bowl.
“We felt like we could build some excitement behind this latest launch, letting people know we’re bringing Isaiah back, and continue to reward our fans across social media,” said James Moorhead, brand manager for Old Spice, promoting a new collection of body washes, sprays and deodorants as a “scent vacation” that evokes exotic locales such as Komodo and Fiji (think “grass skirt.”).
The first commercial a year ago with Mustafa, towel-clad in a shower and urging women to “Look at your man, now back at me,” has generated tens of millions of online views and a new catch-phrase: “I’m on a horse.” The second campaign last summer included 186 related videos in which Mustafa responded personally to digital queries from users including Ellen DeGeneres and Alyssa Milano.
For ABC’s “Good Morning America,” he suggested that President Barack Obama could improve standing with female voters by wearing only a towel and beginning his State of Union speeches with “Hello, Ladies!”
Obama didn’t heed that advice Tuesday night. No matter, the “responses” campaign in its first week scored 21 million views, accounting for eight of the most popular 11 YouTube videos at the time.
The campaign and its ad agency, Portland, Ore.-based Wieden+Kennedy, won a shelf full of top advertising awards, while P&G said sales jumped by double digits for the seven-decade-old brand.
Can the new ad measure up to that success?
“Inherently, there’s pressure when something has a lot of success and then you’re trying to follow it up,” said Wieden’s Eric Kallman, who created the ad with Craig Allen.
Tom Kuntz of MJZ directed the successful, ongoing Old Spice campaign, including the original “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” spot. He is nominated for this year’s Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award in the commercials category on the strength of four entries, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” “Questions,” “Did You Know?” and “Boat”–all for Old Spice. The DGA Award winners–spanning feature, TV and commercial categories–will be announced and honored at a gala awards ceremony on Saturday.
Disney Pledges $15 million In L.A. Fire Aid As More Celebs Learn They’ve Lost Their Homes
The Pacific Palisades wildfires torched the home of "This Is Us" star Milo Ventimiglia, perhaps most poignantly destroying the father-to-be's newly installed crib.
CBS cameras caught the actor walking through his charred house for the first time, standing in what was once his kitchen and looking at a neighborhood in ruin. "Your heart just breaks."
He and his pregnant wife, Jarah Mariano, evacuated Tuesday with their dog and they watched on security cameras as the flames ripped through the house, destroying everything, including a new crib.
"There's a kind of shock moment where you're going, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening.' What good is it to continue watching?' And then at a certain point we just turned it off, like 'What good is it to continue watching?'"
Firefighters sought to make gains Friday during a respite in the heavy winds that fanned the flames as numerous groups pledged aid to help victims and rebuild, including a $15 million donation pledge from the Walt Disney Co.
More stars learn their homes are gone
While seeing the remains of his home, Ventimiglia was struck by a connection to his "This Is Us" character, Jack Pearson, who died after inhaling smoke in a house fire. "It's not lost on me life imitating art."
Mandy Moore, who played Ventimiglia's wife on "This Is Us," nearly lost her home in the Eaton fire, which scorched large areas of the Altadena neighborhood. She said Thursday that part of her house is standing but is unlivable, and her husband lost his music studio and all his instruments.
Mel Gibson's home is "completely gone," his publicist Alan Nierob confirmed Friday. The Oscar winner revealed the loss of his home earlier Friday while appearing on Joe Rogan's... Read More