“Hello, Xiaoyu. Thanks for your support!” If removing that greeting leaves a product presentation that could be sent to anyone, what has the video actually answered? A brand character can have a familiar costume, catchphrase and entrance. Changing the viewer’s name does not mean their question has entered the creative work.
The potential of a comment-response video lies somewhere more specific: can an audience member’s thought make a familiar character say something new or perform an action this particular reply needs? A name acknowledges someone. A different answer shows they have been heard. One cannot substitute for the other.
Give the character a reason to answer
Old Spice’s historical work offers a starting point. Wieden+Kennedy’s Old Spice: Smell Like A Man, Man project page describes the 2010 campaign and the subsequent Response work: the team used social-platform questions to make video replies for fans and celebrities, then posted them on YouTube. This is an account drawn from the creator’s published text, not a viewing-based review of the entire collection. (Consulted on 17 October 2026. The page’s February 2010 label provides project context, not a precise launch date for every subsequent activity.)
The useful idea is not simply to keep a spokesperson on screen. It is to give their next appearance a reason that comes from outside the original advertisement. A character in a commercial can deliver a complete monologue. A reply must contend with an existing input. If that input changes nothing, the format looks interactive while the content remains a broadcast.
Selecting comments is therefore creative work, not just handing the most popular one to an actor. A particular difficulty, a joke the character can develop or a recognisable everyday situation may offer a direction. Like counts cannot tell the writer what is worth exploring in it.
Keep a way of seeing, not an identical line
Imagine a wholly fictional umbrella-brand character: the “Commute Weather Observer.” They treat small everyday inconveniences with great ceremony, without pretending to control the weather. The character, comments and responses below are invented creative examples, not a client project, genuine user comments or weather advice.
One fictional comment says: “I always get downstairs before remembering my umbrella.” The character could solemnly assign the umbrella a seat where it will be noticed before departure. The humour comes from the importance they give a small task, while the answer stays connected to remembering to take it. The actual position would depend on the space; this is not a universal storage arrangement for every home.
Another comment says: “I get home and leave my wet umbrella in my bag.” Reusing the same action with a new greeting would miss the point. This time, the character might hold an elaborate “end-of-shift ceremony” for the forgotten umbrella, bringing the story back to taking it out and putting things in order. Actual storage, cleaning and drying should follow the relevant product instructions. The example promises neither a dry bag, a self-drying umbrella nor any unverified performance.
What continues across the replies is the character’s way of seeing a commute. What changes is the situation they address and the action it suggests. If the character amounts only to a catchphrase, the writer has little room to develop them, and the actor can only exaggerate expressions to make each instalment different. A character needs a personality capable of producing judgments, not merely a recognisable shell.
Let people who never saw the comment follow along
A public reply may reach at least two kinds of viewer: the person who asked, and someone who has never read their comment. The first knows the context. The second may have no idea why an umbrella is receiving a ceremony. Showing only the payoff can leave a newcomer watching an odd action without understanding the answer.
An accurate paraphrase or a necessary everyday action at the start can establish the problem. The point is not to reproduce an entire comment thread, but to preserve the information needed to understand this reply. Letting the character reach the door, turn back and search for the umbrella before making the formal arrangement gives bystanders a way into the situation.
A personal response need not expose more personal information. The relevant circumstance can remain while unnecessary names, order details and addresses stay out of the entertainment. When using a real comment, confirm the scope of its public presentation. If it becomes an edited, representative question, describe it that way rather than presenting it as an unchanged quotation.
Watching from an outsider’s perspective also raises another question: is the reply funny only to people inside the brand? A reference that rewards familiarity with earlier videos can occasionally be welcome. It should not have to provide the only way into every response.
Some questions need more than a character’s joke
D&AD’s Case Study: Old Spice Response Campaign, published on 4 March 2014, describes selecting comments, writing responses and filming them. It also discusses an already-established character voice. This was not simply an actor improvising alone. The historical production speeds, viewing figures and sales numbers are not used here as targets or promises for a present-day project.
For a brand considering this kind of content now, the more important judgment is what answer a particular comment needs. A light observation about daily life can become a performance. Product compatibility, an actual fault or a service dispute needs accurate information or further handling. A witty character constantly changing the subject cannot replace that work.
A character can admit not knowing, too. Product conditions that need checking do not require an immediate affirmative answer just to maintain a persona. Details unsuitable for public discussion need not be forced into a video. Entertainment and serious handling can coexist, provided viewers can distinguish the performance from the brand’s response to a real issue.
Before filming, look for the comment’s contribution
Remove the greeting, temporarily cover the original comment and read the script. Can you still tell what this reply addresses? If the entire video could be sent unchanged to anyone, return to the question and look for a circumstance that has not yet entered the words, action or props. This is a script-development question, not a test of engagement performance.
A reply does not have to expand every comment into a complete advertisement, either. Some need a clear written explanation. Others invite one short action or a small change in the character’s situation. Choose video because performance and images add understanding or enjoyment, not because a standing set requires every question to pass through the same production process.
Returning to Xiaoyu: what matters is not only her name, but the new question she brought. It gives the brand character room to develop and the next video a reason to differ from the previous one. If you are developing a brand character and comment-response content, explore ONCE’s video production solutions with a set of genuine content needs: which deserve filming, how the character might respond and what an outside viewer can take from the exchange.
