Old Spice appears to be gunning directly for Axe with a new line of refresh body sprays, two new spray scents—with the explosively awesome names of Bearglove and Lionpride—and some of its first spots targeted directly at the fragile psyches of teenage boys.
The concept is that Old Spice will make you smell like a man, which will make ladies treat you like a man, which will make your poor mother cry. Easier than running afoul of the law and far more satisfying than simply talking back, men around the nation now have a healthier way to rebel: Just spray to get laid.
In the three spots from the "Smellcome to Manhood" campaign, by Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., the lamentations of the mothers are conveyed in amusing musical fashion as they stalk their sons. The frumpy old moms are seriously creepy, dressing up like janitors, washing up on beaches like corpses and sliding up the ball return at the bowling alley as their sons are out on dates with nice young ladies. Even better, the nice young ladies actually look like nice young ladies and not lingerie models twice their age. For extra mom-upsetting value, the two :15s are both interracial. The :30 is better than the :60, which is a more in-depth bildungsroman and has some seriously weird parts in it.
Fun fact: While the spots don't get into it, the campaign is part of an education effort by the brand to prevent the scourge of overspraying—you know, where young men overcompensate for the hideous smell of their pubescent bodies by dousing themselves with the magical juice that promises to bring bikinied babes running at them in slow motion, except all it does is set off the fire alarm or cause kids in the school to be hospitalized. Supposedly, Old Spice is tackling that somehow with these spots. (See more in the infographic below.) But more important, it's doing it with an awesome PSA about how to scent responsibly that involves synthesizers and a guy in a mullet.
If anyone can spray goodbye to boyhood hygiene habits, Old Spice can.
CREDITS
Client: Old Spice
Project: Old Spice Global | Re-Fresh Body Sprays
Global Marketing Director: Bobbie Jo Ehlers
Global Brand Manager: Mathew Krehbiel
Global Associate Brand Manager: Charlie Nutting
Agency
Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
Creative Directors: Craig Allen | Jason Bagley
Copywriter: Justine Armour
Copywriter: David Povill
Art Director: Ruth Bellotti
Senior Producer: Lindsay Reed
Account Team: Liam Doherty | Diana Gonzalez | Yaya Zhang | Jessica Monsey
Executive Creative Directors: Susan Hoffman | Joe Staples
Head of Production: Ben Grylewicz
Production
Production Company: MJZ
Director: Steve Ayson
Executive Producers: Emma Wilcockson
Line Producer: Mark Hall
Director of Photography: Ryley Brown
Editorial
Editorial Company: HutchCo
Editor: Jim Hutchins
Asst. Editor: Patrick O’Leary
Post Producer: Jane Hutchins
VFX
VFX Company: The Mill
Head of Production: Arielle Davis
Executive Producer: Sue Troyan
Producer: Adam Reeb
Coordinator: Ben Sposato
Creative Director | Flame Lead: Tim Davies
Shoot Supervisor: Steve Anderson
3D Lead: Meng-Yang Lu
3D Artist: Mike Di Nocco
2D Artist: John Price
2D Artist: Lisa Ryan
2D Artist: Margolit Steiner
2D Artist: Scott Wilson
2D Artist: Jale Parson
2D Artist: Edward Black
2D Artist: Steve Cokonis
2D Artist: Tara De Marco
2D Artist: Tim Robbins
2D Artist: Dag Ivarsory
Music
Music Company: Walker
Producer: Sara Matarazzo
Assistant Producer: Abbey Hickman
Composer | Arranger: Brad Neely
Music Record: Warehouse Studio and GGRP Productions Vancouver, BC
Music Record Engineer: Vince Renaud
Composition Engineer: Graeme Gibson
Music Engineer Assistant: Zach Blackstone
Record Coordinator: Derick Cobden
Final Mix Studio: Barking Owl
Post Engineer: Brock Babcock
Producer: Whitney Fromholtz
Color Transfer
Company: MPC
Artist: Mark Gethin