The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2019–2023
Old Spice sold body wash by making 'borrowing' partners the comedy
An episodic campaign about a man whose wife keeps stealing his body wash turned a weak Fresher line into Old Spice's #1 product family.
Old Spice (Procter & Gamble)
The solution
Old Spice's Fresher Collection — moisturizing body washes — was underperforming. Men's body care was a category where the brand's masculine humor didn't naturally fit, and the line lacked a reason to exist in shoppers' minds.
In 2019, Wieden+Kennedy launched 'Men Have Skin Too', an episodic campaign about a couple where the husband's favorite Old Spice products keep getting 'borrowed' by his wife. Comedians Deon Cole and Gabrielle Dennis starred, and later installments added Patti LaBelle and Nia Long.
The campaign dramatized real data — partners do borrow grooming products — and made the moisturizing line the center of a running joke instead of a feature list.
It earned a Gold Effie at the 2023 US Effie Awards, with Citizen Relations and Wieden+Kennedy credited.
Why it worked
- The 'borrowing' behavior is instantly recognizable, so the premise needed no explanation.
- An episodic format let the brand keep returning with new chapters and new celebrity cameos.
- Comedy disarmed the 'men don't need moisturizer' objection without arguing with it.
- The product was present in every scene without a single claims-driven spot.
What can be applied
When a product line is weak on its own attributes, attach it to a relatable recurring social moment: comedy gives the product a reason to be mentioned again and again.
Aftermath
The campaign turned the underperforming Fresher Collection into Old Spice's first-ranked product line and drove significant share and brand-equity gains among Black consumers; the US Effie jury gave it a Gold in 2023.
Sources
- Old Spice: Men Have Skin Too — Effie Insights
- A Hilarious Old Spice Campaign Gives Veteran Actress Nia Long Her First Commercial
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