This Old Spice Ad Features a Lady Pretending to Be a Man. We’re Confused

Take off your Gay glasses. Its nothing to do with perference. It just says old spice has different smelling products for whatever you like. The women reference is just for giggles.

I used old spice because I want to smell like my grandfather’s cheap drug store aftershave.

Old Spice is trying to diversify their product offerings. Their target demographic is a challenge because accessorizing something like a scent is a violation of traditional, insecure male masculinity. To get around it they are hyper-stylizing the emotion/genre while subjectively allowing for the accessorizing by highlighting different “man activities” throughout the commercial. The woman’s statement at the end juxtaposes the traditional socially acceptable spending habits of the genders and provides the right amount of contrast to push the final emotion/call to action/sentiment: “I use all of them, because I’m a man.” Not to mention she adds sex appeal.

The commercial is letting Men accessorize. Just like Dockers did with introducing khakis.

They are essentially letting straight guys think it’s socially acceptable to be a bit gay. All without them realizing it. I don’t think there is any larger commentary or subtext than that. They’re just trying to expand their product offering to an insecure niche market. And I don’t think they’re doing it at the expense of anyone or anything other than the very insecurity that drives that market group.

I say rock on Old Spice

I call sexism. Plain and simple. And stupidity. That ad is ridiculous.

This has nothing to do with being gay. Its about gender, that’s all. Of course everyone is obsessed with gender and what it means to be a man or woman these days, so I’m not surprised that old spice has decided to cash in on it.

I like Qjersey’s reasoning …gave me a good laugh this morning! Who wears this crap anyway?