Here’s yet another item from W+K today, as the agency has debuted its latest campaign for Old Spice, introducing a creepy new android character.
The new character makes his debut in the 30-second “Soccer” (featured above). When the robotic man goes to kick a soccer ball at the beach, he falls directly onto a sunbathing woman, crushing her ribs. Initially irked by the painful injury, she then notices that he smells amazing. When the android says that he can’t get up, she replies, suggestively “Maybe I don’t want you to.” Coming on the heels of the funny Terry Crews-filled World Cup spot, it’s pretty disappointing. It also marks something of a creepiness trend in W+K’s Old Spice work, with the campaign featuring anthropomorphic hair getting the creepy ball rolling earlier this year. Its “our products will make women want you” message is also vaguely reminiscent of Axe’s strategy of marketing to pubescent boys — the only demographic desperate/gullible enough to swallow such a claim. Either approach is irksome enough on its own, but combined they’re truly troubling. W+K’s latest campaign for Old Spice also features the 30-second online spot “Nightclub,” which takes a similar (but possibly even more ridiculous) approach. We’ve featured it after the jump for any interested parties.