WHY SHOULD YOU CARE:  See Edward Boches line below and see the update.  The point, this campaign hit a nerve.  Something within this touched people, caused the people to respond and they illustrated this point in online conversation PLUS purchasing more of the brands product i.e. sales.  Maybe personalizing the message within the marketing message drive revenue/results? Enjoy the read.

What is there not to like about the genius Old Spice personalized video replies to social media users? Sure enough this has been all the rage on the Twitter feed among fans of the brand and marketers this week.

NewTeeVee recently reported that there were 5.9 million views of the videos day one.

This kind of program personalizes the brand. Shows a brand making a genuine effort. This adds to the campaigns “ tongue-and-cheek” edge. I mean, Alyssa Milano tweeted that she made her husband jealous and he went out and purchased Old Spice after never being a user of the deodorant.

Do you get better organic co-signing? A Hollywood actress tweets about how Old Spice is involved in her life AND she even did a video response to the Old Spice man.

Edward Boches of Mullen states “I haven’t contacted or spoken with anyone at Weiden and Kennedy, the agency behind the Old Spice idea, but clearly they have just gone out and done what is likely to be labeled one of the best examples of “the new integration.”

Ed Cotton poses some interesting questions on what this means for the future of communication strategy and creative.

But, Doug Karr  asks – is all this hype actually pushing the needle on Old Spice sales? After all the dust settles – this is the REAL question to ask and consider amongst all the hoopla and hype.

Regardless, kudos to W+K (yet again) for pushing the envelope and showing us a new way to use Television and online communications to spark a genuine conversation around a brand.

UPDATE: Old Spice Sales Double with YouTube Campaign (Via Mashable)

UPDATE: Old Spice Case Study Video (via Digital Buzz)