A summary of the Wieden Kennedy Old Spice panel at SXSW 2011

1. how an aging icon
pwned the internet
...and some other SXSW takeaways

2. The History
Started 75 years ago, by a nautical fetishist
Getting killed, follow Right Guard!
Axe enters the market, functional < emotional
Getting killed, follow Axe!
Wieden + Kennedy takes over...

3. W+K’s Work
First spot - when she sweats
Can’t compete with Axe on sex.
Develop a sense of humour for the brand
That was six years ago.

5. W+K’s Work
First spot - when she sweats
Can’t compete with Axe on sex.
Develop a sense of humour for the brand
That was six years ago.
The sense of humour reel

7. SXSW INSIGHT #1 -
ITERATIVE, “OVERNIGHT”, SUCCESS
Iterative process - try, measure,
improve, try again.
Evolve your brand.
“Advertising is not the thing
that you do, it’s the story of
the things you’ve done.”

8. The Man Your Man Could
Smell Like Campaign
Team was briefed 48 hours before client
presentation.
Super Bowl spot...targeted at women.
Thought they had a radio script.
What if he just does everything he says?
I’m on a horse?

10. SXSW INSIGHT #2 -
DONʼT COUNT TV OUT YET
We just might not call it TV
Social TV - Birth of the front channel
Media spends are coming down.
Media...there is no other industry in
the world where people are given so
much money with so few qualifications
to spend it.
Ubiquity of screens - “TV” is going to be
everywhere

11. YouTube Answer Campaign
“It’s too simple”
They talked to influencers AND average
joes.

13. SXSW INSIGHT #3 -
SEEK SERENDIPITY
Serendipity: an aptitude for making
desirable discoveries by accident.
You’ve got to be there.
Brands need to try new things.
But be smart about it.

14. How Did They Make It
Happen 2 Strat’s
Camera
Set
Selling it to the client
6 Editors
•They did the math.
+ 1 QA
4 Writers
Modest budget
•186 videos, 2 shoot days, $200,000
Organization + small team = win
•See diagram
Nerds + planning = double win
•They hired nerds. Actual ones: 4Chan & Reddit styles
•Found everyone that already posted about the tv spot
•Built a custom application to manage the workflow

15. SXSW Insight #4 - Stay simple and
nimble
Leverage technologies people are already
using, the way they are using them.
Simplify, simplify, simplify.
One simplify would have sufficed.

16. What helped them succeed
Traditional Media
Letting go
•The laptop carousel
•One take
Clients
•Sign a pre-nup.
Alyssa Milano
•Had a backup plan “Talk to the Old Spice Guy”

17. Why haven’t they continued
to engage people?
It’s okay to have a community that’s like
your oldest friend
You want to continue to delight people
Straight up, it’s a resource issue

18. SXSW INISIGHT #5 -
BRAND JOURNALISM IS NOT CUSTOMER
SERVICE
Maybe a cereal doesn’t need a Facebook
page. BUT...
Brands need to at least be listening
The Chrysler story - their fault for not
being authentic
People might one day actually like