Old Spice Commercials are Clever but are they effective…?

I think the new Old Spice commercial campaigns are so cleverly written, acted and edited. Have you seen them? If not, here are a bunch. Now, unless you don’t have a funny or witty bone in your body you have to admit the guilty pleasure of watching and enjoying these commercials. How can one not think these are clever. Well, many of you agree with my impressions, so much so that even big shot corporate executes are bringing them up in professional forums. Such as the Google Executive Patrick Pichette mentions the advertisements in Google’s earnings call. You can read about it here.

It’s obvious that people have enjoyed Old Spice successful social media campaign but has the campaign produced the results expected? Well according to some the ROI on Old Spice is failure. There are various reports that sales dropped 7 percent, other skewed figures from large retail stores such as Wal-Mart can manipulate to the numbers to look more favorable yet still be accurate (statistical trickery). While others mention the hit campaign was a marketing success and financial success when you take in all the information. You can read about that here.

So I am inviting you to offer your thoughts on how successful you feel the Old Spice campaigns are, is the marketing good enough to try this product. I might give it a shot. Hopefully the product produces as much as the campaign. Whatever you think it’s gotten you and me thinking, talking and writing about it, so advertising and marketing are genius now can it out produce quality and stigma associated the name of Old Spice…

Reality TV has taken over!

Yes, reality TV is taking over. How and why is that History Channel (is playing a lot less of History oriented programs) gotten into the game of reality TV. Reality TV shows like Ice Road Truckers, IRT Deadliest Roads, Pawn Stars, American Pickers, Swamp People, Stan Lee Super Humans and Modern Marvels (view them here). I’ll be honest I watch Pawn Stars, Ice Road Truckers causally,  Stan Lee’s Superhumans and Modern Marvels  religiously. Why am I watching when I do enjoy History very much? Because the shows are interesting and I don’t care what channel they are on. So I think the History Channel in addition to the industry are producing whatever will bring ratings and therefore marketing revenue. They are adapting beyond their own niche and sectors producing these type of shows. Are the TV channels programming  losing their soul in the process? What I mean is that they are losing their identity like MTV, recently  has or are they evolving into what they have where they are now- Moving to maintain success and growth not original identity. You can read here in recent 2010 LA Times article that MTV has removed “Music Television” from all their logos. Further reasoning is that almost everything ends up to being a business. That also includes businesses of course but also includes, education, healthcare, politics and technology. I believe the history channel is making a bold statement by given into the trend not because it Is popular but because it is successful.

The profitability of reality shows are a lot less costly to produce and currently more popular, so why wouldn’t any programming try the market out? Well according to this TIME magazine article from 2003 mentions that reality TV is best thing to happen to marketing and programming- I couldn’t agree more. Its rejuvenated television and allowed continued success for otherwise stall mate in programming (by ratings not my opinion). 

Briefly, I must also mention that there is stigma that most reality TV is junk, well not so fast… there some channels that are producing educational reality TV shows, the article here encapsulates this notion pretty good. Any medium, I don’t care what it is can be utilized in a way to benefit you, me and society!