The Good “Old Spice” Days
Written on February 18th, 2010 by Paula Simchak
Written on February 18th, 2010 by Paula Simchak
Old Spice
There’s no denying it. As an agency, Wieden+Kennedy is brilliant. And don’t get me wrong. I think their new Old Spice campaign is hilarious. And I’m not the only one. To quote fellow Martian Sarah Coker’s Facebook status, “Dear Wieden+Kennedy, your Old Spice ‘man on a horse’ campaign makes me laugh so hard I herniate spinal discs. Thank you.”
But as funny as it is, something just bothers me about it. This is Old Spice we’re talking about. The aftershave of whistling sailors…the off-white ceramic bottle. My grandfather wore it when I was a kid, and some things are sacrosanct. Aren’t they?
Turns out they aren’t. While it has a firm place in the memories of my youth, I can’t really remember seeing or hearing any advertising for Old Spice in the last 20 or so years. In doing a little research, I was surprised to find out that Old Spice has been around since 1937. And that Proctor & Gamble bought the brand in 1990 for a cool $300 million—with the goal of taking its image younger.
And they did it—sort of—without me even knowing it. How? They let the Old Spice aftershave brand go stagnant, and turned their attention to deodorant. They re-focused on performance, launching Old Spice High Endurance deodorant in 1994. They targeted younger men, as young as junior high, with grassroots marketing. Like handing out samples at skateboarding events and sponsoring a contest for high-school football player of the year that got their product into locker rooms.
They did everything necessary to walk away from one category and into another one, with a completely new look and feel. And it worked. In my mind, I’ve split Old Spice into two brands. The stodgy aftershave from a bygone era, and the cooler, more modern deodorant and body wash. I literally think of them as two separate brands from two unrelated companies. But how long can I go on thinking this way?
Flash forward 20 years to an attractive, athletic man riding on a horse, with a hand full of diamonds, telling you that anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice body wash and not like a lady. No mention of aftershave, even though in 2004, P&G was just beginning to acknowledge that they might be able to revive aftershave and cologne sales.
So, how long does it take to modernize such an iconic brand as Old Spice aftershave? Well, it’s been two decades, and it looks like they’re not quite there yet. According to their website, “Old Spice Cologne will still be around, even after nuclear fallout. If your grandfather hadn’t worn it, you wouldn’t exist.”
Enter a half-hearted attempt at including their age-old aftershave into their hip, hilarious new brand. More clearly now than ever, Old Spice aftershave is an off-white ceramic bottle in a red and black plastic world. And, I don’t know why, but it makes me a little sad.
Cristina Blanco-Adams wrote: They are genius in the fact that they come into elementary schools now to talk to 5th grade boys about "changes" they will go through and hand them samples. Now my son will only wear Old Spice deodorant. To him and his friends, it’s the cool brand.
Friday, February 19th 2010 at 9:42 am |Chris Wood wrote: I love this article! My dad wasn't an Old Spice guy, but a Royal Copenhagen guy. I think you can only get it online now. He started using it in high school and is still using it today. Talk about brand loyalty! It's funny how that smell can take me back when I was a little boy trying my dad's cologne for the first time. Thanks Paula.
Friday, February 19th 2010 at 10:32 am |