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2009

Old Spice Loses the Shirt, Keeps the Whistle

When Wieden+Kennedy rebranded Old Spice, they launched a campaign that redefined the brand. “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” took the concept of manliness from scruffy and expected to classy and cool. The casting of African-American actor Isaiah Mustafa as the Old Spice Man was a boundary-breaking moment in advertising.

Another noteworthy move on the part of W+K was role-reversing the audience; the spot targets women in order to sell a product intended for men. Perhaps the most significant aspect of the commercial was its quick and whimsical execution. Ending with the tagline, “Smell like a man, man” Old Spice secured its spot in history as a great example of modern advertising.