New Old Spice Swagger commercials kind of stink.
In recent commercials, Old Spice takes a tongue-in-cheek approach with celebrity endorsements to promote Swagger. In each TV spot, a younger version of the celebrity is shown as being a total loser with the girls. Then, we see him today – as a hipper, more attractive individual.
The only problem with these commercials is the celebrities they’ve chosen (LL Cool J and Brian Urlacher) aren’t really all that cool. What’s more, both celebrities aren’t that famous for being ladies’ men. Think about it: who is the target audience? Young guys who shop for fragrance at Osco Drugs as opposed to the department store. Who they want to emulate isn’t a 40-year old former-rapper-turned-actor. Nor a defensive linebacker for a losing football team.
If Old Spice wanted this concept to work, they should have chosen more smooth, debonair types like Shia LeBeouf, Rafael Nadal and Zac Efron – to name a few. Since Swagger is a new product, there’s no way it could have helped LL Cool J or Urlacher achieve the fame they now enjoy. (Not that anyone really believes Old Spice can turn a loser into a winner anyway.) But if it did, these young guys could claim that Swagger helped their appeal.
It’s a shame Old Spice missed the opportunity to give Swagger some real swagger. Using a cliched formula with C-list celebrities a sure-fire way to help a new product launch peter out.
Karl Gromelski is a writer at sgdp who wishes the Chicago Bears who buy themselves a quarterback that plays as hard as Urlacher.
Article Tags: Brian Urlacher | LL Cool J | Old Spice | Rafael Nadal | Shia LeBeouf | Swagger | Zac Efron
Filed under: Advertising, Campaign Critiques, Celebrity Marketing
I agree that the celebs used do not depict the proper swagger. The celebs that would probbably provide the most desirable swagger probably already have their own cologne or refuse to peddle a low-priced mass market scent. But Shia LeBeouf?!? Popular? Yes. Desirable Swagger? No. He is a self-proclaimed clutz with the ladies and is not idolized by young men. Zac Efron?!?! Of High School Musical fame? No. He is a charicature of the Bop magazine-type craze. Young men do NOT want to be like him. Rafeal Nadal?!?! How many average Americans know who he is? How many American young men want to be like him? Plus, his English-speaking skills are not very good.
Quantas – you make some good points. Since the best “swagger” candidates would probably already have a cologne, it would be hard to find guys who fit the bill. While my alternate may have not been the best, they show the direction I was thinking — young guys that teen girls idolize. Would love to hear which guys readers think should be cast.
k.
The guys they should have used are the guys they used. You’re missing the whole point. It’s not to convince people it’ll make them more appealing, it’s to make them laugh and get the product stick in their head.
I mean, come on, how many people would actually believe that an old spice cologne helped guys become desirable?
LL Cool J is not a ladies man? C’mon, be smart man!
As a far-away (Europe) Bears fan, I am always looking for new sites with Chicago information.
Well Karl, you don’t know much about women… I know plenty of women black and white who go crazy for LL Cool J. maybe not teen girls or girls in their 20s but 30s up love him.
LL Cool J stands for Ladies Love Cool James. I mean, really, that’s about as blatant as it gets that he is, or was, a ladies man.
Anyhow, the target market is a fairly broad demographic that includes older guys who remember Urlacher and LL as classic pop culture symbols, much like the positioning of Old Spice itself. It’s a heritage brand looking to be known for humor and masculinity, aka swagger. Anyone above 25 would be embarrassed to wear Zac Efron’s signature smell. He’s about as masculine as Mylie Cyrus.
And naming it Swagger, considering the current pop significance of that word, is just brilliant, regardless of whether it was intended. Does anyone want to tell me that P&G, with $83 bil. in annual revenue does not know how to market?