So I’m watching tv and I see a commercial for Old Spice. Now let’s face it, Old Spice has had a reputation for being…well old. And honestly for smellling old too. It’s become a cliche that Old Spice smells like “old guy”. So I started thinking about how Old Spice has attempted to rebrand themselves to compete against Axe and it would seem by using an add campaign inspired by Dos Equise’s “Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign…and failed miserably. I mean let’s face it, Axe’s “too good to be true” promises of “The Axe Effect” captured the attention of teen to early 20 something males across the country with adds featuring relatively average looking men being mauled by extremely attractive women (usually in groups) in acts of sexual aggression that let’s be honest, if the image were portrayed with the genders reversed they’d be boycotted for glorifying a sex crime.
But to get back in line, Dos Equise featured the Most Interesting Man in the World, bearded and wearing a suit to convey maturity, style and sophistication (very A314). And while most of the adds feature him sitting at a table, the center of attention with two to three attractive women that appear to be half his age, when he speaks you’re given the impression that he’s addressing other men. His accomplishments seem to be for for his own personal enjoyment rather than to impress which makes his image as a man all the more impressive.
This brings us to the Old Spice rebranding campaign. First I’ve sampled the products, deoderants, body wash, body sprays etc and to be honest they’re not that bad. It’s a definate improvement over the old “this shit smells like grandpa” scent they used for decades. But the repackaging just comes off like they want to be Axe REALLY REALLY badly. “Swagger”, “After Hours”, “Showtime” all featuring the scent name in it’s own unique font/logo just like Axe. To compound the lack of originality their new “Old Spice Man” spokeman feels like he’s supposed to be cut from the same cloth as “The Most Interesting Man In The World”. But he’s not. First of all they begin the commercials with the image of an attractive and well built man…ok you definately got the attention of everyone that DOESN’T buy your products. And have you seen the way this guy stands? Mannquins look more natural and relaxed, he really looks like he’s TRYING HARD to look buff. Nevermind being shirtless without a valid reason to be shirtless gives off an approval seeking vibe in and of itself. He doesn’t even address the men. He addresses the women (who rarely buy mens products) and he goes on describing acts and images that fall totally in line with acts that would be done by low value, approval seeking beta’s…you know, the kind of guy every woman SAYS she wants but in reality doesn’t respond to. Let’s see, this is a man that will bake her cake, in a kitchen he built for her with his own hands.
He’ll take her on picnics in rowboats,
sailing trips and give her tickets to whatever opera, symphony, ballet, or Broadway Show she happens to like and shower her with expensive sparkly things.
All the while talking about himself with an exaggerated Barry White voice and an obviously forced pseudo stud posture. The message is aimed at the wrong target, and conveys the message that men should be approval seeking TRY HARDS that will promise to spoil and pamper women with unoriginal attempts at “romance”. Ironic that the message seems to be one taken a little too seriously by Old Spice…be unoriginal and steal idea’s from Axe and Dose Equise, and be approval seeking by conveying the message to women that men should be approval seeking.
Sad really, the attempt COULD have been something good but the desperation is just too obvious.
