This ad campaign began as the company was struggling to really attract the male audience. A washington Post article states, “research suggested women purchase as much as 70 percent of the shower gel for men in their households, but using body wash struck some men as unmanly.” (https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/16/business/media/16adco.html) Studies across the hygiene industry around 2010 showed that men were less interested in a body wash and more inclined to use soap, as it is what they were used to. Old Spice wanted to take a playful, humorous approach to ensure users that they could still “smell like a man”, while using a body wash. This gets at the male ego a little bit, as they were worried whether they could still smell like a man using a body wash, but uses jokes and humor to do so.

I have always thought that Old Spice has done a very unique job of advertising. Specifically, they take a very direct, humorous way of promoting their project. Also, Old Spice capitalizes on certain generalizations and stereotypes to appeal to a specific target audience of men. However, they do it in a distinct way. Old Spice uses these stereotypes and gendered targeting in a playful way to make men more comfortable with their product, in my opinion. I also think that the fact that they say things such as “smell like a man, man” could be taken the wrong way by some people who do not appreciate this gendered segmentation of the market. As a marketing major, gendered segmentation is a touchy topic, especially in recent years. Marketers have to realize that most products should not be defined as solely for men or solely for women because realistically, most products can be used pretty equally by both segments.

However, bath soap and body wash does tend to be one of the product categories, where segmenting the market is beneficial. The way Old Spice does this though, is what makes me appreciate the ad. People take their hygiene seriously (or so they should), but I believe that the playful approach Old Spice takes helps men feel more comfortable with their product.