The move comes after the brand's spokesman, Isaiah Mustafa, returned yesterday with a 74-second video explaining that he's back. Mustafa was the star of the brand's "Smell Like a Man, Man" campaign, which garnered more than 24 million views on YouTube last year, making it the most-viewed ad of 2010. (Subsequent videos featuring Mustafa responding to fans' questions brought in millions more views.)
The company will choose the superfan based on his or her social media support. "We'll be scouring the web," Old Spice rep Mike Norton says.
He says that the video will be e-mailed to one superfan sometime in the next couple of weeks, but well before the ad breaks on February 7, the day after the Super Bowl. The Procter & Gamble brand will not be advertising during the game, Norton says.
The new ads support a line called the Old Spice Fresh Collection that began appearing on shelves last fall. The ads will promote a new body wash with scents like Fiji, Matterhorn, Cyprus, Denali and Komodo.
Given the huge social media interest in the Old Spice campaign — Wednesday's video went from about 300 views at noon to roughly 255,000 Thursday morning — we think this promotion is indeed a huge gift to a fan of the brand and a smart incentive to get more people chatting up Old Spice in social media channels.