Large brands have a different problem than small or mid-size businesses: it's not about getting noticed, it's about breaking through when everyone already thinks they know your product. Old Spice's 2010 "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" campaign, and the response-video blitz that followed it, is still one of the most studied examples of a legacy brand pulling off exactly that, with sales numbers reported directly from Nielsen data.

The setup, then the escalation

The original campaign launched around the Super Bowl in February 2010. Then, in mid-July 2010, the brand and agency Wieden+Kennedy did something unusual: they filmed 186 personalized response videos in about two days, replying directly to comments, tweets, and even celebrities, all in character. It generated over 34 million views in under a week and briefly took up 8 of the 11 most-watched videos on YouTube.

Why the trend line matters more than any single number

The 107% figure gets quoted the most, but the more useful detail for a marketer is the shape of the trend, sales growth accelerating steadily over the trailing 12, 6, and 3 month windows, then spiking hard the month the response campaign ran. That's a brand building momentum first, then adding a sharp, culturally-timed push on top of an audience that was already paying attention.

What this looks like at a scale that isn't a Super Bowl budget

Few businesses have a Super Bowl-size budget or Wieden+Kennedy on retainer, but the underlying mechanics are available to any business: build genuine momentum with consistent content first, then layer a real, timely push on top of an audience that's already warmed up, instead of treating every campaign as a cold start. Momentum compounds, one-off pushes rarely do.

Whether you're building that early momentum or planning the push on top of it, our project planning quiz can help map out a strategy, or see our full list of services.