Is this Old Spice's marketing commentary on what it means to be gay? Or intersex? Or just some lame appeal at their (straight) target audience's machismo? Honestly, we cannot figure it out. Help?
PHOTOS: He’s Got a Pera Aces (9)
· chris says: wow. »
So Lady Gaga Was Pretty Great at the AMAs. And Adam Lambert Was Pretty Terrible (98)
· derrr says: lady gaga does not lip sync. period. its pretty obvious she doesn’t need to. and... »
Which Maybe-Gay Actor Maintains His Celebrity Relationship for His Career? (1)
· YellowRanger says: Zefron? »
Taylor Lautner on Rolling Stone Will Be Sexier Than Levi Johnston on Playgirl (9)
· chris says: i dont mind objectifying. hubba hubba. »
· Republican says: Terrwill, We may not agree on much, but we agree on Taylor. My gaydar was going off... »
· terrwill says: CAM: He did gain a lot ‘o muscle in a short time, but he has none of the... »
Do You Want the Federal Government to Tax Your Right to Lipo? (3)
· William Day says: That guy’s plump, not fat. Trust me, I know fat. »
Atlanta Police Sued For Making Homosexuals Place Moisturized Faces on Dirty Bar Floor (2)
· terrwill says: QJERSEY: First day with your new eyeballs??? Where do you see NYC in the headline???? »
EXCUSES: The Senate Just Knocked DADT’s Hearings Into Next Year (33)
· Robert, NYC says: 1EqualityUSA, if Obama or any other democrat isn’t elected to the presidency... »
The Hot Gay Sex Scene Embedded In This Dragon Video Game (40)
· Adam Taylor says: I thought that the scenes were quite well done for the most part. They’re... »
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?