Old Spice waves farewell to boyhood in coming-of-age parody

Saying goodbye to boyhood, aftershave and deodorant brand, Old Spice waves ‘Farewell Teenage Me’ in a new marketing campaign that positions its products as a milestone marker of growing up.

The humorous new campaign, by Wieden + Kennedy London, has been designed to promote the brand’s new range of perfume-quality scents for Europe.

Building on insights that show Old Spice is perceived as a coming-of-age product as when boys start to use deodorant they are becoming men, the hero film plays on the tropes of coming-of-age movies. Audiences see a man driving through the desert with his teenage self in the back seat. Pulling over, he announces “It’s time”, to his confused passenger.

As the teenager taps away on his phone, none the wiser, the driver says “time for me to move on” before pushing a special Old Spice button in his car. A box of deodorants with the brand’s new scents appears.

The protagonist tells his teenage self to get out of the car, before taking a smell of a deodorant. As he removes the product from under his nose, a full, thick moustache is revealed. He says goodbye to boyhood with “smell you later, teenager”, before driving away past a billboard that reads, ‘smellcome to manhood’.

Speaking on the campaign’s direction, Senior Brand Director of Personal Care for Procter & Gamble, Enric Jimenez Prat, said, "Building on consumer insights, we positioned Old Spice as a ‘coming of age’ product for a generation of young men boldly taking their first steps into manhood."

The film was directed by Andreas Nilsson, and has two versions, 45 seconds and 30 seconds. The shorter version will run across broadcast channels, online and social media, throughout Europe.

The campaign successfully positions Old Spice in line with its public perception as a milestone moment in growing up, while maintaining the brand’s signature cheeky tone through humour and parody. Through self-awareness and relatability, ‘Farewell Teenage Me’ helps to strengthen audiences' connection to the long-standing brand.