Is Old Spice's 'Mandroid' a Sexist Ad Campaign or a Satire of Sexist Ads?

'The product as aphrodisiac' is one of marketing's oldest tropes

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As Old Spice and agency Wieden + Kennedy continue to roll out ads featuring their chronically malfunctioning spokes-bot, it's hard to decide if they're succumbing to one of the most tired cliches in advertising or if they're skewering it. 

The gag, which competitor Axe spent years building its marketing around, is that using the brand's grooming products will make any man irresistible to women. Old Spice took the trope to its logical extreme, creating a mandroid who can score a hot date even when his face is falling off or he's crushing a woman's ribs with the weight of his industrial endoskeleton.

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