As a young man in New York, I decided it was time to pick a signature (deodorant) scent. As a skinny 160lb weakling (I have big bones) I wanted something manly. I thought about the manliest person I knew and the gift my sister and I got him every year for Christmas: Just like my grandpa, I was going to wear Old Spice.
This lasted for maybe a year, at which point the mix of ridicule, intense smelling pits, and weird male attention convinced me to switch to Speedstick.
I still have a weird attachment to the scent and the brand. Apparently, I'm not the only gay who feels this way. Because no straight man would have created the last four ad campaigns to come out for Old Spice
First up came the 12 inch hot dog. To be fair, in the same campaign there was also an image of a woman licking a melting vanilla ice cream cone, but that's hardly the point.
Next they appealed to the bears: A new take on the old "magnetic moustache" toys of yore, this web app allowed users to draw their own hair on a male paper doll and discover their Hair/Body Metric.
[TMI alert: I was the "Blossoming Truncheon."]
A guest appearance by America's favorite out male gay was next, as NPH flounced onto the scene.
But the coup de gras was still yet to come. The centaur ad could simply mean virility... being a stallion for your filly as suggested by the tv spot. But the remainder of the images at Double Entendre.com... I mean It's Two Things leave little room for interpretation. Check out the cannon or the tank and ask yourself what red-blooded heterosexual man wants to see another man's gunsmoke headed straight for his face.
An aside: After creating something clearly meant as a viral campaign, Old Spice seems to be taking down YouTube posting of the commercial and site animations. I can understand missing the mark in attempting to be the next Axe, but misunderstanding and misusing social media is a pretty unforgiveable mistake.
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