It was too soon to measure the fruits of the Old Spice social media campaign. Early reports put sales of the Red Zone deodorant down 7%, but they've just been updated. And the numbers are much, much higher.

According to SymphonyIRI and cited in a BrandWeek report, overall sales for the Old Spice Red Zone—the first Isaiah Mustafa-touted product—have hit US$1.6 million for the four-week period ended 11 July, a 49% leap over the four-week period ended 21 February.

And overall sales have skyrocketed 106% since the campaign’s February launch, according to Nielsen statistics.

But maybe these increased figures didn't have anything to do with Mustafa. Old Spice launched major coupon programs during this time frame, so whether these sales were a result of Mustafa's charm or the coupons are impossible to tell.

Part of the campaign were the viral videos that had manly man Mustafa giving video responses to users comments and questions. It proved a resounding success, racking up more than 40 million views; and all the Old Spice spots have had 110 million eyeballs glued on them online.

But—and this is a huge ‘but’—how will this social media campaign drive sales?

A Fast Company article discussed the Old Spice figures in comparison to the brand’s competitors Gillette, Nivea Men, Dove Men and Axe.

These brands didn’t go the social route, but Gillette is boasting sales figures higher than Old Spice’s for the same period. Will Old Spice be able to topple this after numbers from the viral videos start pouring in?

Some people don't think so.

A recent blog post ran through the mistakes made in the whole campaign, citing confused messages and a shift in target core audience as some of them.

But no matter the numbers, it appears Old Spice are happy themselves. Brand manager James Moorhead said in an AdWeek piece that “business is on fire” and that results have been “strong” thanks to Wieden+Kennedy’s “great work”.

So, forgetting about the dollars-and-cents for now, what we have is a fantastic social media campaign, hilarious ads, and above all, a happy client.

If you have other interesting design and art finds, cool websites, or anything that might catch our eye, share it with us at news -at- hillscreativearts -dot- com!


Want to see what 24 hours of creative awesomeness look like? Click here.



This news message is supported by The Creative Finder, an online platform for photographers, illustrators, designers, and art directors to promote their portfolios towards new clients and collaborators. Creatives who wish to sign up for an account can save 10% off annual fees with promo code 'designtaxi'.