Old Spice x The Witcher - Old Spice | Clapboard Ad Archive
Old Spice’s Vision of Old Spice | Old Spice x The Witcher is a 2023 campaign that sees the Procter & Gamble male grooming stalwart fuse its signature humor and robust brand identity with the epic fantasy universe of The Witcher, capitalizing on the buzz around Season 3’s Netflix release to assert its relevance among younger, entertainment-savvy consumers. The campaign’s strength lies in its confident embrace of what Clapboard’s taxonomy calls FORMAT#12—Parody or Borrowed Format—taking the recognizable tropes, setting, and iconography of The Witcher series and repurposing them to audaciously contrast medieval magical visions with the modern, empowering freshness only Old Spice can deliver. By aligning itself with a blockbuster entertainment property at precisely the moment it commands pop cultural conversation, Old Spice leverages narrative synergy to drive its market category's central promise: that freshness is not only a question of personal care but of identity, capability, and contemporary masculinity. The film medium campaign dispenses with didactic storytelling in favor of playfully embedding Old Spice into the lore-rich world of The Witcher, signaling to fans that confidence and allure have always been hallmarks of legendary heroes, but now, thanks to Old Spice, they are achievable—and delightfully fragrant—hallmarks for modern men everywhere. Campaign execution smartly threads relevancy across social and video channels including TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, and notably YouTube, where total views surpass 7.75 million, a figure that affirms the combined resonance of franchise fandom and the brand’s distinctive communications style. Hashtag use, such as #TheWitcher and #24/7FreshnessUponThee, extends campaign reach and underscores the interplay between household product ritual and the escapist fantasies that shape today’s digital, narrative-driven engagement landscape. In a market category where Old Spice contends with the likes of Axe, Gillette, Nivea Men, and Dove Men+Care—all staking claims on aspects of masculinity, performance, or care—this campaign reasserts the brand’s unique position: iconoclastic, witty, and always at the intersection of adventure and everyday confidence. The campaign earns 73/100 in Clapboard's global creative archive. The resonance of this work lies in its demonstration that when brands use pop culture as both canvas and context, they can achieve both mass relevance and unforgettable distinction in even the most crowded consumer categories.
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