Old Spice continues to develop its “Unbelievably” creative platform with the release of “Unbelievably Cool”the new European campaign created by the independent Spanish agency Burns for the Procter&Gamble brand.
The piece takes up the baton of “Unbelievably Long-Lasting”, the previous campaign that focused on the duration of the product and which was recognized with several metals at festivals such as El Sol or the Clio Awards.

In this new installment, the communication focuses on Cold Spice, the brand’s line of antiperspirants and shower gels that stands out for its refreshing effect and its cold sensation on the skin.
The campaign is launched in 28 European markets and will be activated on television, digital media, outdoor and point of sale. Its centerpiece is a 60-second spot directed by Maxi Blanco, from the Landia production company, which transfers the benefit of the product to an extreme scenario.

A cool castaway on a desert island

The spot presents an extreme situation: a group of castaways trapped on a remote island, under stifling heat, wait to be rescued by a helicopter. However, the rescue team is forced to turn back when the smell of the survivors becomes unbearable.
That of all but one.

Because among the castaways appears a relaxed, and surprisingly perfumed man, who continues to stay fresh thanks to Cold Spice. The product arrives to him in a refrigerator carried by surfing penguins, in a surreal twist that reinforces the brand’s characteristic tone.
And the final scene takes the idea even further: as the helicopter moves away, the protagonist rests in front of an igloo mansion applying antiperspirant that literally freezes into ice cubes when it touches the skin.

“Behind every Old Spice laugh there is a lot of work listening to the consumer”explains Alejandro Guerra, Brand Director of Personal Care at P&G Europe. “We analyze their needs, develop products that solve them, and then work hand-in-hand with the creative team to turn those benefits into something only Old Spice could do: smart, absurd and memorable.”
According to him, Cold Spice seeks to transfer that approach to a category that “could have a little more fun.”

Second chapter of an international collaboration

“Unbelievably Cool” is the second European campaign developed by Burns for Old Spice, following the success of the previous installment.
For Carla Alexander, Managing Director at Burns, this continuity reflects the relationship built with the brand. “Being chosen again as the creative agency for Old Spice Europe is a testament to the talent of the team, our business-oriented vision and the close collaboration we have with P&G”he points out.

As we have been able to know since reason.Whythis second installment of the creative platform also represents a strategic evolution with respect to the previous campaign. Previous work between the brand and the agency has allowed us to adjust the balance between Old Spice’s characteristic humor and the presence of the product within the narrative. “They say that the second parts are not good, but I think this is better than the first, precisely because of the learnings”Alejandro Guerra explains to us. As detailed, the first project with Burns was also a process of adjustment between agency and advertiser, taking into account the creative weight that the brand carries from historical campaigns such as the man on horseback. In this context, the challenge was to maintain that creative territory that Old Spice defines internally as “intelligently ridiculous” humor, without falling into the repetition of past codes.

In this second campaign, we have also sought to reinforce the presence of the product within the creative story. “We want people to remember that Old Spice is not only funny, but it smells good too.”explains Guerra. For this reason, the spot introduces more explicit brand and product elements from the first seconds: the red helicopter with the logo, the direct appearance of the antiperspirant on camera or scenes in which the characters highlight its fragrance. According to him, the pretests carried out before the launch have shown superior results in these points compared to the previous campaign.

The production of the advertisement on this occasion took place in a remote location on the Caribbean coast of Mexico, which added complexity to the shoot. “We had to prepare ourselves physically and mentally to shoot three days with temperatures of 40 degrees”explains Maxi Blanco, Director at Landia. “As it was a real location, the production challenge was enormous for all teams.”

Below you can see a video with the behind the scenes from this campaign:

This new Old Spice advertising installment is already underway in Europe and will continue to develop the “Unbelievably” creative platform, which articulates the brand’s communication around the benefits of the product through the characteristic humor of its commercial messages.