The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Smell Like a Man!

Old Spice is a common brand of body spray, and other male grooming products. The Shulton Company, was the original producer of Old Spice, and was founded in 1934 by William Lightfoot Schultz. It was originally made for women, but shortly after they began to move toward male products.

The products were shaving products and aftershave lotion. All products we're packaged with a nautical theme, and still are to this day. Eventually Procter & Gamble purchased Old Spice from the Shulton Company in June 1990. When this happened the original sailboat was replaced by the yacht logo in February 1992. The original Old Spice products had only one scent, but they now have multiple scents, as well as multiple products, including shave gel, deodorant, shower gel, and body spray. You can find these products just about anywhere, but what makes them stand out from the competitors are their advertisements.

One of Old Spice's notorious ad campaigns is “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.” This thirty second commercial was released on February 8, 2010. Shortly after being launched it became viral. I've even seen it parodied for the 2011 film Puss in Boots It stars Isaiah Mustafa (Old Spice Man), he is extremely confident and masculine. The commercial begins with Mustafa in a bathroom with only a towel on, he then transitions to a sailboat, then onto a white horse, all without breaking eye contact with the camera. By doing this he instills “anything is possible” if a man uses old spice.

What made this ad stand out to me was the fact that it is so different than the majority of ad campaigns. Before I saw this commercial, advertisements always went for obvious humor. The randomness of this ad made it catchy and funny. Now I see commercial that are shot in a similar fashion, such as the new Dairy Queen commercials

Another factor that made this commercial stand out was that despite the product being made for men, the target audience is actually women. In the opening line Mustafa directly greets the audience confidently saying “Hello ladies. Look at your man, now back to me, now back at your man, now back to me.” Throughout the ad he implies that if women buy their boyfriend or husband Old Spice body wash, they could be just like him. Again saying “anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady.” Women are usually the ones to buy these type of products for the household, which makes this an extremely effective marketing strategy. Old Spice has definitely got me sold!