Whatever happened to using soap?

These days there seems to be a craze in marketing body wash to men. Everyone including Axe, Dove, Nivea and Old Spice have gotten in on the game. After browsing a few of their ads it became clear that what they all are saying is that they have made a body wash that cleans, smells good and can still be manly. Or something.

I was going to write up some crap about swiping their ideas but I thought it would be more fun to talk about Old Spice and what they've become. Here is a nice quote from Old Spice's youtube page: "Don't smell like sunsets and baby powder. Smell like jet fighters and punching". They aren't even marketing what their product does, they're marketing an attitude which in this case would be "swagger".

A quick glance at the Old Spice website shows 18 different flavors (?) of body wash. I have used maybe 2 of these ever and I can only guess what they all smell like. Some products even feature Odor Blocker for 16 hours of freshness. Shouldn't they all have this? Does Old Spice pay a team of scientists to come up with new ideas for body wash? If they've churned out 18 already I can only imagine what didn't make the cut.

Here are some guesses as to what some of the body washes smell like:

Deck Scrubber: Filthy, filthy pirates.

Aqua Reef: Salt water and snorkels.

After Hours: Strippers, cigarettes and bourbon.

Gameday: Locker rooms and spilled beer.

Arctic Force: Snow? Polar bears?