Old Spice Dishes Up Frothy Fun as 'Men Have Skin Too' Returns

Would you let hotel soap near your skin?

Deon Cole and Gabrielle Dennis, stars of Old Spice’s popular “Men Have Skin Too” campaign, sure won’t. They prefer the brand’s body wash, and so does their latest special guest—actress and TV host La La Anthony—in one of two fresh commercials from Wieden+Kennedy Portland:

Deon and Gabby kill in this campaign. Cole can’t stop being funny. He’s pure fire delivering lines like “Now I’m gonna look ashy,” as Dennis plays the perfect unrepentant foil, usurping his Old Spice without permission.

Anthony’s cameo echoes previous “Men Have Skin Too” appearances from Patti LaBelle and Nia Long, while Emmy nominee Dime Davis’s brisk, sitcom-y direction serves the bubbly material well.

Here’s a second new spot, sans Anthony, focused on shampoo, with Deon getting his sudsy comeuppance in the shower:

It’s likable stuff with broad appeal, driven by great co-star chemistry. The vibe harkens back to Polaroid’s iconic James Garner-Mariette Hartley ads of yore, but with a modern sensibility.

“Since the campaign’s inception, we’ve prioritized the depiction of relatable multicultural couples in a way not normally seen in traditional advertising,” says Matt Krehbiel, the Procter & Gamble VP who oversees Old Spice. “This principle is evident through each chapter by partnering with multicultural creatives and talent to authentically illustrate stories.”

Over the summer, working with Plan C Agency and filmmaker Clayton Tony Au, the brand cast Ross Butler in this ad designed to resonate with Asian audiences, which generated nearly 2.8 million views on YouTube alone.

CREDITS

Client Contacts: Matt Krehbiel, Gwynedd Davis, Omar Goff

W+K PORTLAND
Executive Creative Director: Ana Balarin | Hermeti Balarin | John “JP” Petty III
Creative Directors: Sara Phillips | Erik Fahrenkopf
Copywriter: Shareina Chandler 
Art Director: Kristina Morris
Head of Production: Orlee Tatarka
Executive Producer: Katie McCain
Senior Producer: Nani Weinberg
Producer: Sydni Chustz
Group Brand Director: Thomas Harvey
Management Supervisor: Megan Russell
Brand Manager: Patrick McLaughlin
Brand Executive: Carla Lozano
Creative Operations Manager: Klarika Huszar
Media Team: Jason Strickland | Emily Graham | Chris Ableidinger |Torie Morris| Leo Corcoran | Abbey Mirigliano |Kyle Moore | Sergio Gocobachi |Tara Duenas |Nathalie Aps
Brand Strategy Director: Scott Woodhouse
Strategy Director: Christian Clay
Senior Strategist: Katie Dyer
Executive Business Affairs Manager: Teresa Lutz
Traffic: Michael Dutt
Design Ops Manager/Design Producer: Jason Schwartz
Studio Design Director: Curtis Pachunka
Studio Designer: Ken Berg 
Retoucher: Greg Radich

PRODUCTION COMPANY
Production Company: Merman
Director: Dime Davis
DP: Topher Osborn
Global Managing Partner: Kira Carstensen 
Head of Production: Jeff Sommar
Creative Executive: Jack Taylor Cox
Line Producer: Annalise Rowane

EDITORIAL 
Company: Whitehouse Post
Editor: Charlie Harvey
Assistant Editor: Taylor Schwartz
Head of Production: Annie Maldonado
Executive Producer: Joanna Manning
Post Producer: Katrina Kuss

VFX
Company: Kevin VFX
Lead Artist/VFX Supervisor: Robert Murdock
Executive Creative Director: Tim Davies
Compositors: Gareth Parr, Dag Ivarsoy, Steve Gibbons, Chris Moore, Robert Winfield
Senior Executive Producer/Partner: Sue Troyan
VFX Producer: Andrew Cowderoy 

COLOR
Color Company: Primary
Colorist: Kya Lou
Head of Production: Diane Valera

MUSIC 
Music Company: Human WorldWide
Executive Producer: Carol Dunn
Head of Sync and A&R: Kamela Anderson
Creative Director/Composer: Craig DeLeon
Composer: Daryl Pinsdorf

SOUND DESIGN/MIX
Sound Design Company: Field Day Sound
Sound Designer: Morgan Johnson
Audio Mixer: Noah Woodburn
Executive Producer: Leslie Carthy