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Derek Thompson

Derek Thompson - Derek Thompson is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where he oversees business coverage for the website.
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He is a visiting research fellow at the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget at the New America Foundation. Derek has also written for Slate, BusinessWeek, and the Daily Beast. He has appeared as a guest on radio and television networks, including NPR, the BBC, CNBC, and MSNBC.
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Did the Hilarious Old Spice Commercials Hurt Old Spice Sales?

By Derek Thompson

Jul 21 2010, 3:41 PM ET Comment

The ironic-masculine Old Spice campaign "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like" produced my favorite advertisement from last year. But it didn't move Old Spice bottles in retail stores. In fact, sales have dropped 7% since the campaign started. Jezebel asks why and comes up with a surprising and smart answer:
The Old Spice ads were so successful in raising brand awareness that no dude wanted to have a bottle of the stuff in his shower. The funny ads actually gave the product embarrassing or negative connotations.
Read the full story at Jezebel.


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