Social media origin stories can be murky. You've probably seen the Jonah Hill "cut it out" meme, or the eminently customizable photo of the guy looking at one woman while another (presumably his girlfriend) glares at him but it's not always immediately apparent where the viral fun started.
Then there’s Irish Spring. Its bubbly new Twitter account celebrates its one-week birthday on Thursday and has logged 10 posts (and several dozen replies). A University of Georgia graduate who went to high school in Cobb County was behind the launch.
“Oh hello Twitter. So THIS is what everyone's been talking about,” its inaugural post reads. “Irish Spring Est. 1972, tweeting since 9/19/19.”
Its first image post followed the next day.
The debut post followed a Facebook message from Dill's Food City announcing Irish Spring was temporarily leaving the shelves ahead of Saturday's game at the University of Georgia against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Lots of people saw the post, including 2012 UGA grad Mallory O'Brien. The Kell High School alum is now social media community manager at Colgate-Palmolive, Irish Spring's corporate parent.
“When she picked up the news about the grocery store post, Mallory brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to get the team mobilized quickly,” the company said.
With O’Brien (who happens to be of Irish ancestry) calling the plays, Team Irish Spring scrambled for an impressive on-campus blitz ahead of the game.
Credit: Peter Frey
Credit: Peter Frey
Following UGA's 23-17 victory, Irish Spring products are available again at Dill's, which has a history of lighthearted social media stunts before big games. Last year, the store yanked Bama jelly ahead of UGA's game against the Crimson Tide.
Meanwhile, Irish Spring’s being lauded for making the most of last week’s pregame excitement.
The Colgate-Palmolive empire includes Hill's pet food, Murphy Oil Soap and Ajax along with its two headliners. The company's Sept. 4 investor presentation highlighted a relaunch of the Hill's Science Diet line, the global growth of its toothpaste and toothbrush products and future plans for its skincare lines.
"Influencer marketing" is catching on, with more than 7.3 million impressions, but this seems to consist mostly of people brushing their teeth and documenting it on Instagram.
Irish Spring has enjoyed some incidental social media love in the past. A dog named Kermit, who has a thing for soap, indicated Irish Spring as the clear winner in a video titled “My Dog Reviews Soap” that’s been viewed more than 6.6 million times.
And then came UGA-Notre Dame.
“This past weekend showed us that no matter whose side you're on, there's always room for a little fun,” Colgate-Palmolive said.
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