Old Spice Analysis

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

Over the past few years, Old Spice has used actor Isaiah Mustafa in ads for their famous shower gel. These commercials have become vastly popular and Isaiah, also known as "the man your man could smell like", has donned the persona of the "Old Spice Guy" in other Old Spice videos, many of which can only be viewed on their Youtube channel. Isaiah's toned and half-naked body, along with his suave manner of speaking and smug smile, have greatly contributed to the success of this surprisingly simple commercial.

If one breaks down the thirty three second ad and analyzes each part, it's aim becomes quite obvious. The commercial starts out with Mustafa standing in a bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. The first words he utters are "Hello, ladies", in a sensual purr. He urges the female viewers to look at their significant other and then to look back at him, which forces the audience to compare the two men. Then, as if to emphasis the differences between himself and the other men, Mustafa orders the women to do it again. At this point, Mustafa knows that the women have come to the conclusion that their men pale in comparison to him and remarks, "Sadly, he isn't me."

Now that he has gained the attention of the female audience, Mustafa starts to market the Old Spice shower gel by saying, "But, if he stopped using lady scented body wash and switched to Old Spice, he could smell like he's me." Ah, there's the selling point; if a man uses Old Spice shower gel, he would become popular with the ladies. Just as the audience becomes fully engaged in the commercial, Mustafa again orders the viewer to look away. When one looks back to the ad, they find Mustafa now wearing a pair of nicely pressed slacks, with a blue and white striped button down shirt hanging over his shoulders. Not only that, but the scene changes so that he is no longer standing in a bathroom, but on a boat.

This scene puts one on a boat with "the man your man could smell like" if, that is, he switched to Old Spice shower gel. Again, Mustafa demands that you look away, only to look back at him, "What's in your hand? Back at me- I have it." He raises a hand, holding an oyster. "It's an oyster with two tickets to that thing you love." By using the word "thing" and not specifically mentioning what the tickets were for, he shows what could be apathy to what women care about. On a more optimistic side, however, he may just saying "thing" in order to make it more general and thus appeal to a greater population of women.

"Look again," Mustafa commands. "The tickets are now diamonds." The oyster in his hand dissolves into a pile of diamonds, a downpour of a "girl's best friend". This act of magic is explained by the statement, "Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not a lady." By appealing to women through their romantic, yet materialistic, natures, Mustafa makes them question the devotion of their partner. Why don't their men take them out more often? Why don't their men buy them pretty and expensive things? What's wrong with them? By the time one is done pondering such questions, they find Mustafa sitting on a horse. This can be a symbol of a knight in shining armor, the ideal male figure in most female fantasies. Suddenly, it makes the woman come to a sad realization - where is her knight? Her partner's appeal, or armor, is now dented from years of wear-and-tear, and their once sharp and protective sword is dull from continued use. But Mustafa. . . Mustafa offers them something new, something exciting. By playing on the female need for attention and their superficial biases, Old Spice allures women to buy their men Old Spice brand products.