Whatever Happened To The Old Spice Guy?
"The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" ad premiered on YouTube on February 4, 2010, and it hit broadcast TV four days later, the Monday after the Super Bowl. With that TV exposure, online views more than quadrupled, and the spot went viral, the Los Angeles Times reported that year. Old Spice Guy ads are now seen as an early online marketing success. Referring to the attention, Mustafa told the outlet, "It got crazy, it was like 100,000 more every couple of hours. My daily thing was to go look in the morning and go, 'Whoa! No way!'" YouTube views had topped 60 million as of 2023.
To capitalize on all that attention, Old Spice launched new and innovative marketing tactics, with Mustafa as the Old Spice Guy included. Among other commercial appearances, Old Spice debuted the "responses" campaign. Viewers submitted questions via social media, and Mustafa answered them. Those responses were then posted on the internet. Referring to that groundbreaking approach, marketing expert Michael Fleischner told ABC News that year, "I think the Old Spice campaign is really breaking new ground here. Ads have always been a form of entertainment, but now when you add that viral effect it's really starting to escalate."
The next year, in 2011, the Old Spice Guy was featured alongside Fabio to determine the sexiest TV pitchman of all in a YouTube challenge called "Mano a Mano in el Baño." Based on viewer response, Mustafa won.
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