The Ad Your Ad Could Sell Like (But Most Likely Won’t...)

A long time ago (in 2010), there was an ad that broke all kinds of records.

The New York Daily News and People magazine gave it rave reviews.

The ad went viral and has over 60 million views on YouTube to this day. 

It even won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Advertising Festival.

It is the classic Old Spice ad:

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

You’ve probably seen it before. It’s a very funny ad.

But humour in marketing is a tricky thing. 

9 times out of 10, I would even caution against it.

And this is because it requires a very deft touch that not everyone can pull off. A lot of things need to come together right for it to work properly.

So Let’s Break It Down…

The ad starts by asserting that your man uses “lady-scented body wash” and what he should be using is Old Spice (so he can smell like a real man).

This is interesting because Old Spice is a product for men… but he’s talking to women.

The Target Audience For This Ad Is Women

Now whether your guy uses Lynx or femfresh doesn’t really matter, because the ad is funny.

And the actor in the ad gets away with it.

He owns the role. He’s adept at playing that wildly smug, cool-cat, smooth dude character.

He’s effortlessly arrogant and over the top.

The guy’s a professional.

Not only this, but in the space of 30 seconds, the ad transitions from bathroom to boat. 

The actor goes from shirtless to casually sporting a sweater around his neck.

He goes from holding Old Spice to holding an oyster - which transforms into diamonds -before changing back into Old Spice again.

He starts the ad off standing and ends it riding a horse.

All of this is done in one swift take.

And the actor stares into the camera the whole time.

They actually did all of this. No computer magic. 

Well, maybe a bit.

Everything else is done with practical effects.

The bit where he goes from bathroom to boat?

Well, that’s a crane lifting the bathroom set up.

When he goes from beach to horseback, there’s a cart off-camera carrying him there.

It took 3 days of filming to get all this right. 

Not to mention hours and hours of planning, storyboarding, effects editing, set-building, and scripting.

All this for a 30-second ad...

So when you’re making an ad for your business, you need to ask yourself:

“Could I Pull This Off?”

⠀

The answer’s probably no.

And even if you had the time and budget to do something like this, it’s probably still going to fall flat.

Old Spice did their homework. 

They knew exactly who they were selling to.

They know that their main demographic is women, because women usually make buying decisions for hygiene products in the household.

But Let’s Say You Did Pull This Off

Let’s say you got a professional actor to recite an entertaining monologue and you actually made a hilarious ad.

Most of the time, people will remember it being funny...

...but they won't even remember the product you're selling.

If you want me to go even deeper:

The Old Spice Ad Works Because It’s Selling An Identity

You could use any body wash.

Heck, you could even use women’s soap in the shower and no one would bat an eyelid.

But the marketing guys at Old Spice are smart.

What they’re really selling is the identity of a muscular, suave, funny gentleman - to women.

And that’s why it works.

It has a reason to be funny.

High Risk, Low Reward

Say you did pull it off and you made the advertising version of Dumb And Dumber... it would still be a big risk.

Because funny ads don’t necessarily make sales.

Yes, they may get attention. 

They may go viral. 

But you’re not selling a laugh.

You’re selling a product.

And those two don’t always have the same target audience.

Getting loads of views and winning awards is nice. 

But before we do any of that, let’s make some sales first.

Talk soon,

Pritesh Chauhan

P.S. Take a look here for more marketing insights:

pkcmarketing.co.uk/blog