P&G brings back Old Spice guy as MANta Claus

By Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith, campaignlive.co.uk, Thursday, 08 December 2011 10:38AM

Procter & Gamble (P&G) has launched a Christmas viral campaign for its Old Spice brand using its now iconic Old Spice guy, Isaiah Mustafa, as the festive MANta Claus.

Old Spice: Isaiah Mustafa stars as MANta Clause in festive digital campaign

The digital campaign, created by Wieden + Kennedy, features a series of online videos in which Mustafa, filmed in a log cabin surrounded by Christmas gifts and fairy lights, and standing in a towel and a scarf, acts as the modern-day Santa Claus.

Mustafa pledges to give Christmas gifts to all seven billion people in the world on YouTube this week, which the viral videos will keep a record of to prove to consumers.

In the video above, he features in a mock news report delivering weather to San Diego.

Each video ends with the picture of a map to show which part of the world has just received a gift, using the strapline: "MANta Claus. 1 man, 7 billion gifts."

So far, the Old Spice Guy has given gifts to the whole of Switzerland, "who long ago came up with the idea of being peaceful"; to all the "unblinking insomniacs" living in Alaska; to all the elderly ladies "whose age is only matched by [their] devastating beauty and treasured brain wisdom", and countless others.

Old Spice brand last filmed a series of videos for the brand in July, when a new "hunk", Fabio, was introduced as a character to the ad run, competing with Mustafa.

llow Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith on Twitter @LoullaMae_ES

This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk