The One Show
The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.
Category
Brand Partnerships
Annual ID
OS22_IG035M
About the Work
Today, we take it for granted that Old Spice saves armpits from B.O. But to remind people that life hasn’t always smelled this good, we partnered with the hit Netflix series, The Witcher, to launch its second season.
The Witcher is set in the 1200s - one of the smelliest times in human history. Back then people didn’t have deodorant and we discovered they only bathed about once a month.
That inspired us to create a film that looked exactly like an episode of the show, with key cast members singing about their stench and longing for a future with Old Spice where they’d finally have armpit salvation; “B.O, B.O, nothing we do will make it go. Old Spice does not yet exist and everyone smells quite awful.”
Next, inspired by scents from the show, we create a range deodorant sticks: three delightful scents, like Yennefer’s Underarm, and three vile scents, like Kikimora’s Corpse. The limited-edition products became highly sought-after collectibles and reaction videos to the stinky sticks went viral with millions of views.
Finally, we took the partnership to Reddit where there were already discussions about how each character smelled. We didn’t judge redditors. Instead we created the ‘SmellyBardBot’ that used A.I to write thousands of unique poems about each character’s odor and joined in their conversations.
This was a magical partnership that used bad smells from the past to remind Witcher fans that Old Spice can save them from B.O today. Long may it live in their nostrils.
Results:
- 210 million video views
- 564 million media impressions
- Over-delivered on media purchase by 116%
- 5000+ unique smelly sonnets written on Reddit
Quotes:
- “The perfect collab”, Bloody-Disgusting.com
- “Genius”, ScreenRant.com
- "Why you'd want to smell like horse arse is beyond me." - TheGamer.com
The Witcher is set in the 1200s - one of the smelliest times in human history. Back then people didn’t have deodorant and we discovered they only bathed about once a month.
That inspired us to create a film that looked exactly like an episode of the show, with key cast members singing about their stench and longing for a future with Old Spice where they’d finally have armpit salvation; “B.O, B.O, nothing we do will make it go. Old Spice does not yet exist and everyone smells quite awful.”
Next, inspired by scents from the show, we create a range deodorant sticks: three delightful scents, like Yennefer’s Underarm, and three vile scents, like Kikimora’s Corpse. The limited-edition products became highly sought-after collectibles and reaction videos to the stinky sticks went viral with millions of views.
Finally, we took the partnership to Reddit where there were already discussions about how each character smelled. We didn’t judge redditors. Instead we created the ‘SmellyBardBot’ that used A.I to write thousands of unique poems about each character’s odor and joined in their conversations.
This was a magical partnership that used bad smells from the past to remind Witcher fans that Old Spice can save them from B.O today. Long may it live in their nostrils.
Results:
- 210 million video views
- 564 million media impressions
- Over-delivered on media purchase by 116%
- 5000+ unique smelly sonnets written on Reddit
Quotes:
- “The perfect collab”, Bloody-Disgusting.com
- “Genius”, ScreenRant.com
- "Why you'd want to smell like horse arse is beyond me." - TheGamer.com
2022 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
Wieden+Kennedy / Portland
Client / Brand
Netflix / Los Angeles
Old Spice / Cincinnati
Art Director
Karen Zack
Copywriter
Jason Scott
Creative Director
Erik Fahrenkopf
Sara Phillips
Designer
Chris Streger
Director
Orlee Tatarka
Executive Creative Director
Ana Balarin
Eric Baldwin
Hermeti Balarin
John Petty
Executive Producer
Katie McCain
Producer
Kelly Cousins
Sarah Sweeney
Design Director
Curtis Pachunka
Related Awards
