Shulton company history

Old Spice

History

The first Old Spice ® product, called Early American Old Spice for women, was introduced in 1937, closely followed by Old Spice for men in 1938. The Old Spice products were manufactured by the Shulton Company that was founded in 1934 by William Lightfoot Schultz.

Early American Old Spice was developed around a colonial theme. When Old Spice was introduced, William Lightfoot Schultz was interested in maintaining a colonial framework for those products and chose a nautical theme for Old Spice. Thus, sailing ships, in particular colonial sailing ships, were used as a trademark. Through continuous use and advertising, the various ships have become a valuable trademark identifying the Old Spice product for men.

Procter & Gamble purchased the Old Spice fragrances, Skin Care and Antiperspirant and Deodorant products from the Shulton Company in June 1990. Since purchasing the Old Spice line, the company has continued to provide many of the original Old Spice products, as well as introducing several new products that have enhanced the Old Spice line. However, the business's prime target market were primarily the older generations and was known as the "Grandfather" Smell.

If there was a defining moment when advertisers started to get a proper handle on social media marketing, it was when an ex-American football star called Isaiah Mustafa was drafted in to save Old Spice from oblivion. Promising women he was "the man your man could smell like" would go on to be hailed as one of the most popular ever viral campaigns.

The campaign was so different from much of the formulaic work that prevailed at the time and helped convince other mainstream advertisers that they needed to push the boundaries if they were going to connect with a younger generation of consumer who had become desensitized to the effects of traditional marketing. What made its success all the more astonishing was that the campaign was for Old Spice, a neglected Procter & Gamble brand that had lost ground to more hip rivals such as Axe and whose very name seemed to underline how outdated it had become.

Moreover, it discovered that women were responsible for more than 50% of bodywash purchases - an insight that defined the strategy of the first ad that debuted during the Super Bowl on 8 February 2010. W&K quickly followed up with an interactive digital campaign capitalizing on the popularity of the "Old Spice Guy" in which he responded to personal video messages from his fans.

Its success went beyond the wildest dreams of agency and client with 5.9 million YouTube views on the first day alone. By the end of 2010, Old Spice had become the leading bodywash brand for US men with sales up 125%.