Old Spice
1 HN recommender · recommended in 4 months, 2010–2025
0:33 · 63M views · Feb 5, 2010
The 2010 Old Spice commercial featuring Isaiah Mustafa, shot as a continuous sequence with scene changes and practical effects. It became a famous viral ad.
Used as an example of a viral ad that worked through humor and clever in-camera production.
4 comments from Hacker News
Honorable mention goes to the Old Spice 2010 ad, where a lot was done in camera too, including the horse. The Man Your Man Could Smell Like: this video Pitch presentation: [LINK] Behind the scenes interview: [LINK] It was a big success and a series of similar clips followed; this one has an actual “behind the scenes” video: Scent vacation: [LINK] Behind the scenes: [LINK]
They do know, I have a friend who works at a seeding agency, and they know very, very well how it works. Make it funny/stupid/sexy enough, and people will watch it. A couple of good examples of this: [LINK] this video [LINK] [LINK] Don't know if the latter was launched as a viral campaign, but my point is that you know it and the brand it was from if I'd phone you up and shout "WASSUP". Marketing is a lot scarier that you think.
It's in reference to a commercial that was particularly well done, especially in scene changes without jump cuts: this video What's really amazing is the once-in-a-blue moon of (admittedly, excellent) satire reaching the top of the post rankings.
Ah, apologies if you find the title sexism. It's just a reference to OldSpice's commercial: this video The first part of the article was meant as a joke if that's not clear.