Shannon Ludwig

BA 303

Rebranding is more than just redesigning a logo. It can include that, but when a company

forgoes a change in brand, it often includes a change in marketing strategy, target market in order

to regain its original audience or to focus on a completely new segment. Procter & Gamble’s Old

Spice, an American brand of male grooming products, underwent a complete rebrand in the late

2010’s, and because of the success, it’s been known as one of the most effective rebrands.

Founded in the late thirties, but bought by Proctor & Gamble in 1990, Old Spice is one of

the most popular deodorant brands in the United States. Though Old Spice’s is most known for

their deodorant, they also sell antiperspirant, body wash, hair and beard care. The Old Spice

brand has gone through several rebrands since its time in the colonial days, however, their most

recent rebrands is considered one of the most successful in the business industry.

As competition such as Axe, made names for themselves in the male care industry, Old

Spice’s sales started to drop. Old Spice’s products originally targeted to older men with the idea

that the scent would make them “more manly”. But as more competition entered the market, Old

Spice became associated with elderly men and the brand became stagnant with the younger

generation. In response to this, Old Spice launched it’s “1-800-PROVE-IT” campaign in 2007.

The project focused on the effectiveness of their products against body odor. This campaign

completely flopped as their “Glacier Falls” scent performed terribly and was in danger of being

discontinued. In order to save the scent and the brand, Proctor & Gamble hired a new group of

markers to totally rebrand Old Spice.

To compete with Axe, Proctor & Gamble changed Old Spice’s target market from older

men to the younger generation, starting at age 12. To do this and save “Glacier Falls”, they
created a new campaign the following year known as Swagger. The campaign included a series

of new television ads featuring celebrities such as rapper and actor, LL Cool J, and NASCAR

drive, Tony Stewart. The campaign also including a contest to make your own Old Spice

Swagger commercial, with a $10,000 incentive. The goal of the campaign was to take all the

seriousness out of the brand. Make it cool, fun, and more modern to attract younger consumers.

The idea was that Swagger Old Spice would make buyers confident, popular, and really, a man.

In addition to the Swagger campaign, Old Spice also launched “Man you wish your man

could smell like this” in 2010. The commercial features actor and former football player, Isaiah

Mustafa, who used humor to connect with the audience. The company followed up on this

commercial with a series of additional humorous YouTube ads, which went viral gaining over 40

million views in one week. Because of the commercial success which led to popularity on the

internet, Mustafa became known as “the Old Spice Guy” and continued shooting commercials

for the company. A fan favorite promotion included Mustafa and former NFL player and actor,

Terry Crews, in comical ads for Old Spice Body Spray entitled “Smell is Power” and “Power in

a Can”. In addition to reaching their target market, Old Spice ranked number one for men’s

body wash as their ads ranked number one on Youtube and sales were up 27% for the first time

in six months.

The following year, Proctor & Gamble teamed up with advertising agency Wieden +

Kennedy to promote Old Spice even more, however, their goal was to create a strong online

presence to attract new customers and update their packaging to please their consumer’s

changing needs. They did this by creating an interactive website with eye-catching packaging

design using new colors, typography, and graphics. Their mobile marketing efforts were also

prioritized because their research revealed that more people were willing to accept ads on their
mobile device. In addition to strengthening their customer relationships, Old Spice also reached

more of their target audience as sales increased more than 100% and website traffic increased by

300%.

The ultimate goal of a rebrand is to regain or reach a new target market because the

original strategy is causing the company a significant financial loss. Old Spice was becoming

stagnant and downright unpopular with their original target audience. In response to this, they

hired a new marketing team to create fresh and new campaign to compete with upcoming

companies such as Axe. Through changing in promotion, for example celebrity endorsements

and an increased focus on social media, Old Spice recaptured it’s audience and climbed its way

back to the top of their industry and if they are able to keep up with the times, they won’t fall

again.

Works Cited
Kings, Future. “Add a Bit of Old Spice!” Medium, The Startup, 18 Oct. 2018,

https://medium.com/swlh/add-a-bit-of-old-spice-4758040cc681. 

“Old Spice Rebrand.” Works Design Group, 11 Jan. 2018,

http://www.worksdesigngroup.com/brand-stories-old-spice-rebrand/. 

“Old Spice-This Ship Still Sails the Ocean.” Prosperity Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019,

https://www.prosperity.net/old-spice-this-ship-still-sails-the-ocean/. 

“Old Spice's 2010 Rebrand Business.” Brandsonify, 11 Feb. 2020,

https://www.brandsonify.com/resource/old-spices-2010-rebrand/.