Old Spice

TRANSLATING AN ICONIC AMERICAN BRAND FOR THE UK
MARKET

What we loved

Men have a lot of pressure on them to be a certain way and achieve ‘manhood’; (whatever that means nowadays). In our latest campaign for Old Spice, we wanted to champion the underdog and encourage young men to be themselves, a refreshing task to take on. This isn’t just an ad about smelling good; we’re showing how long-lasting scent gives young men a step up – transforming everyday hiccups into wonderful triumphs. Tapping into UK-centric humour and championing the underdog, we’re connecting with young men and showing them that manhood is a mindset.

HOW WE DID IT

We were tasked to unlock explosive growth for Old Spice through the creation of a new UK-centric bland platform that would resonate with our target audience.

Old Spice is an iconic brand globally but it’s relatively unknown or ‘old fashioned’ amongst young men in the UK. We needed to increase meaningful awareness which meant tapping into the unique UK mindset.

Our research uncovered a fundamental difference between the US and UK. British culture is deeply rooted in underdog narratives – driven by a national identity shaped by adversity, and a historical pride in punching above one’s weight. This cultural affinity manifests in a strong preference for self-deprecating humour, ironic triumph, and resilience over physical dominance.

We identified two key themes in young men’s lives: Sports and Music (where scent and performance is crucial). We centred our two films around a local football match and a festival: two popular and culturally relevant moments for young men.

We positioned our underdogs as the ‘winners’ in their unique scenarios. In our hero film we show our main character missing the goal at football, but after the ref gives him a sniff, he declares the miss a goal instead. When you smell good, and you know your scent won’t let you down, it can go a surprisingly long way; even making you smell like the goal went in!

This culminated in our UK brand platform: ‘Smell goes a long way’, a literal expression of the fact that if you smell good enough you can stack the odds in your favour and go from ‘Who’s this guy’ to ‘Who is this guy?’