OLD SPICE stages ‘Mantervention’ to help guys be less lame

Two messages jump out from Old Spice’s new four-spot, humor-laced ad campaign: “friends don’t let friends become lame-o’s” and “a splash of Old Spice a day keeps the lame-o-ness away.”

The ads revolve around a hapless adult male who once was cool but now lives a life of quiet despair and is in desperate need of rescue by his still-cool buds.

Laugh-inducing though the commercials may be, they’re actually grounded in serious insights taken from an Old Spice-sponsored survey. Among the findings:

●     79% of men drift apart from their pals as they age

●     92% who’ve lost touch miss hanging out and doing exciting stuff together

●     31% work late more often, thereby fostering isolation

●      28% binge-watch TV more often, further fostering isolation

These numbers suggest opportunities exist for brands to stage “manterventions,” as Old Spice calls them, in order to teach guys that the right products at the right time in the right way can enliven an otherwise mundane existence.