Come to think of it, there does seem to be fewer people taking showers in TV commercials these days.
Way back when, people showered all the time during program breaks, showcasing Nair ripping unsightly hair out from its very follicles (but painlessly of course) and men with brogues soaping up after taking part in grueling wrestling matches or courting a lady at a picnic.
[Related: Get More on ‘The ’80s’]
So leave it to Old Spice, which already reinvented itself for a new generation, to revive the ’80s-style ads and bring old-school hygiene to a new generation. Since the April 7 debut, the soap-in-a-watermelon ad has already ratcheted up more than 3 million views on YouTube, while the shower-following-the-square-jawed-surgeon has cleared nearly a million. Not bad, although they have ways to go to hit the all-time high of 45 million rolls of 2010’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.”
Oh yeah, by the way, Old Spice has a new line of bar soaps. A third spot comes this summer.
Lest you think Irish Spring is lying down like a moldy sponge, it did come out with a “Funny or Die” parody in summer 2012, with former WWE wrestler John Morrison. Listen for “I just got a whiff of something fierce.”
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