By now you’ve probably seen that hilarious Old Spice commercial that features ex-football player Isaiah Mustafa going from his shower to a yacht to the back of a horse in one swift motion. In it, he tells ladies that their man might not look like him but that they could smell like him if they ditched their girlie body wash and switched to Old Spice. How could a commercial that’s based entirely on gender stereotypes be so wildly successful? Let’s investigate.
It’s funny
The exaggeration of stereotypes is part of what makes this commercial so brilliant. Even those who have a problem with masculinity being defined as the opposite of femininity find it charming.
It challenges conventional thinking
While most commercials tend to drive a wedge into the distinction between what is deemed appropriate expressions of manhood and womanhood (Docker’s Wear the Pants commercial comes to mind), Old Spice came up with a better approach. They ridiculed both men (“Sadly, your man isn’t me. But if he stopped using lady scented body wash he could smell like me”) and women (“It’s an oyster with two tickets to that thing you love”).
It doesn’t take itself seriously
The commercial is lighthearted. It’s fun. Because it doesn’t take itself seriously, the viewer doesn’t take it’s gender stereotyping seriously. It’s so outrageous yet playful with its sexism that it actually calls your attention to how ridiculous gender stereotyping is. Genius.
It’s a win-win
On one hand, the Old Spice manmercial implies that men must be manly men in order to attract women. On the other hand, it perpetuates the idea that women should only prefer manly men. It then goes on to suggest, in the end, that even the unmanly men somehow manage to have girlfriends. Double Genius.
He’s on a horse
If you only learn one thing from this commercial, it should be this: The quality of just about anything can be drastically improved by doing it on a horse.
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Possibly one of the greatest commercials of all time….
it made me think of chest rockwell and handsome boy modelling school.
Hey instead of putting crap like this why dont you upload K’naan Wavin’s Flag video for Fifa? ohh yeah..I forgot this ain’t Nah Right
@Happyflip: Weaaak! Go to ‘Nah Right’ and save your conversation-halting comments from all of us who enjoy TRU.
Thumbs up for the commercial, I agree.
Nawhh I’m not hating bruh I used to like this site but like everything else its starting to sell out man
Happyflip – I’m not saying that this post will make you smell like a man, but I’m insinuating it.
hahaha lmaoooo dawg let’s get some hip hop shit bro
How about we mix this Old Spice commercial AND hip-hop together? The result is “I’m On A Horse (Old Spice Remix)” by The Beat Bumz! The beat goes hard yet the flow is hilarious! Check it out on Youtube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nziyPPTaz3Q
and it was all filmed in one take with very little cgi.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzhE6KPWCFM