Old Spice and Arby's Get the Meat Sweats in Absurdist Collab

“I’m on a Horsey Sauce!”

With those words harkening back to his classic Old Spice spots—and “I’m on a horse!” catchphrase—Isaiah Mustafa hacks into an Arby’s commercial for a kooky crossover that’s all about … meat sweats, of course.

Dubbed “Ultimeat Dreams,” the campaign boasts a :30 that opens like most Arby’s ads, with the sultry tones of narrator Ving Rhames extolling the virtues of a sandwich.

“Arby’s half-pound roast beef, piled high with…”

Suddenly, a cry of “meat sweats!” interrupts Rhames’ spiel as we watch Mustafa, clad in his trademark shower towel, scale a mountainous meal.

Isaiah explains that “Old Spice Meat Sweat Defense defends against the meat sweats”—slang for the excessive perspiration caused by consuming way too much … meat. Duh.

An enraged Rhames—and he really does sound like the wrath of God—commands Mustafa to “Get out of this ad!” The latter loses his grip and tumbles, landing atop a packet of Arby’s Horsey Sauce.

Developed by Old Spice agency Wieden + Kennedy Portland with input from Arby’s shop Fallon, the push features limited-edition Meat Sweat Defense Kits. They’re available here for $60, and include roast beef-patterned sweatsuits, towels, sweatbands and other co-branded merch:

Deepfake Dolph Lundgren, from Old Spice’s seat-soaked February foray, could use that kit for sure (and some Arby’s grub to replenish his electrolytes!).

“From the first moment we connected, we knew how special this partnership could be,” Matt Krehbiel, VP at Procter & Gamble’s Old Spice, tells Muse. “The challenge, but also the fun part, was figuring out how to bring our products together in a cohesive way that felt authentic to our audiences.”

Fortunately, both Old Spice and Arby’s revel in “smartly ridiculous humor,” Krehbiel says, and their commercial styles meshed well. The resulting work should “appeal to a wide audience from millennials who are more familiar with the Old Spice Guy to Gen Z, who love a good swag drop,” he says.

Last week, Mustapha teased the effort by hitting the streets of NYC’s Meatpacking District to hand out Old Spice Sweat Defense sprays and Arby’s gift cards:

All in all, this is one pop-culturally potent MEATing of the minds. (I used that joke already, but here it is again!)

Mustafa previously reprised his Old Spice Guy persona in 2020 to celebrate the campaign’s 10th anniversary. Rhames began voicing Arby’s ads eight years ago, elevating its “We Have the Meats” slogan to iconic status.

CREDITS

CLIENT Old Spice ft. Arby’s

W+K PORTLAND
Executive Creative Director JP Petty, Hermeti Balarin, Ana Balarin
Creative Directors Erik Fahrenkopf, Sara Phillips
VFX Creative Director Stefan Smith
Copywriter Sai He
Art Directors Ashley Veltre, Jahmal Landers
Director of Production Orlee Tatarka
Executive Producer Katie McCain
Producer Eunice Pang
Design Producer Kelly Cousins, Jason Schwartz
Studio Designer Ken Berg
Brand Strategy Director Scott Woodhouse
Senior Strategist Christian Clay
Media/Comms Planning Jason Strickland, Emily Graham, Emily Wuetcher, Tenley Sanduski
Brand Team Thomas Harvey, Crystal Thomas, Megan Russell, Patrick McLaughlin, Carla Lozano
Creative Operations Manager Klarika Huszar
Business Affairs Teresa Lutz, Matt Hughes
Traffic Michael K Dutt

PRODUCTION COMPANY (MAIN FILM)
Production Company Mrs. Wright & Skin&Bones
Director Riggs Howard
Executive Producer Jacki Callerio & Joan Bell
Producer Andrew Graham
Production Manager Maeg McGregor
DP Dylan Macleod
Production Designer Michael Walker

EDITORIAL
Company JOINT
Editor Eric Hill
Cutting Assistant Charlie Harrington
Executive Producer Kathleen Russell
Head of Production Catherine Liu
Post Producer Jenny Greenfield

COLOR
Color Company JOINT
Colorist Jasmine Vazquez
Color Producer Sarah Usmen
Finish Coordinator Zai Outlaw

VFX
VFX Company JOINT
Lead Flame Andy Dill
Flame Artist Michael Smith, David Jahns
Executive Producer Nirad “Bugs” Russell
Head of Production Catherine Liu
VFX Producer Sarah Usmen
VFX Coordinator Zai Outlaw

MIX
Company JOINT
Audio Engineer Natalie Huizenga
Associate Audio Engineer Candace Mortier
Executive Producer Kathleen Russell
Head of Production Catherine Liu
Audio Producer Louise Woodward

FALLON
Chief Creative Officer Nikki Baker, Leslie Shaffer
Creative Directors Joe Johnson, Mike Behrends
VFX Creative Director Stefan Smith
Producer Zoe Quadflieg
Associate Producer Emma Van Der Heide
Director of Business Affairs Brendan Lawrence
Brand Team Chris Campbell, Payton Gallogly, Julia Frayne

THE PUB – PRODUCTION
Director Collin Goodspeed
Executive Producer Amanda Tibbets
Food Stylist Diana Scanlon

PSISTERBOSS – AUDIO / MIX
Producer Jill Asp
Audio Engineer Jeff Marcovis