W+K Sings ‘Dadsong’ for Old Spice

W+K has a new spot for Old Spice’s “#SmellcometoManhood” campaign entitled “Dadsong,” a follow-up to to the goofy musical “Momsong,” in which mothers lament Old Spice turning their sons into men while engaging in some pretty creepy behavior.

The follow-up, with music and lyrics written by Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords, The Muppets), reprises the sad moms of that spot, but with an answer from the dads. It opens on one of the moms from “Momsong” singing, “Where’s my little boy, I miss him so? Who’s this man living in our home?” while clutching her sons teddy bear as he slow dances with a girl. Soon a chorus of fathers replies that they’re “overjoyed” that they’ll be using their son’s room “for storage pretty soon.” The song is a step up from its predecessor — not a surprise given McKenzie’s involvement — and strikes more of a balance between goofiness and creepiness (which mostly comes across through visual gags). And while it deals in over-the-top portrayals of stereotypical motherly clinginess and fatherly aloofness, it’s also pretty clear that it isn’t dealing in anything resembling reality. Fans of McKenzie’s distinct style of musical comedy, and anyone who enjoyed the original “#SmellcometoManhood” installment, should get a kick out of “Dadsong.” (more…)

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W+K Brings Back Terry Crews, Sans Shirt of Course, for Digital Effort

W+K Portland have launched an campaign for Old Spice’s new line of electric shavers and trimmers (price range: $50-80), and have enlisted the help of a familiar face to help launch the new products.

Current Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews, who helped introduce Old Spice Shave Gel last year with the spot “Baby”, returns to help market Old Spice’s foray into the shavers and trimmers world. The 45-second digital effort, “Get Shaved in the Face,” is reminiscent of Crews’ iconic work for the brand from years past, with a predictable amount of screaming and general mishigas. In the spot, Crews is in the process of shaving when a mini-crews realizes that he is a hair. As you might expect, things get pretty crazy by the conclusion of the spot, which you can watch for yourself above.

While the strategy might not have the shock value it did years ago, it makes a lot of sense to call on the iconic Crews for the introduction of a new product line. Among the products being introduced are: Old Spice Hair Clipper (“Like a lawn mower for your hair with 8 adjustable settings.”), Old Spice Beard and Head Trimmer, and Old Spice Shaver (“Like 3 smooth barbers for your face, this shaver features a triple-action cutting system with twin foils that shave off stubble and an integrated cutter that shortens longer hairs…”). Stay tuned for credits and a “Baby” refresher after the jump. continued…

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W+K Launches the Only Interactive Site Where Hair Plays Huey Lewis Songs

W+K Portland has unveiled “The Power of Hair” for Old Spice, the “newest, never-been-done-before interactive digital experience.”

The new site is an extension of W+K’s “For Hair That Gets Results” campaign promoting Old Spice’s new haircare and styling products, featuring the same anthropomorphic hair, and comes on the heels of the “Boardwalk” and “Meeting” spots Old Spice debuted late last month. Visitors to “The Power of Hair are greeted by a testimonial video with a young man extolling the virtues of Old Spice’s hair products. Predictably, this includes attention from the ladies and respect around the office. Less predictably, this includes Huey Lewis songs. “When you’ve got great hair like this, you’d be surprised by how many Huey Lewis songs it can play on the piano,” the now bald man says.

Visitors to the site are then asked to pick a Huey Lewis song, and the hair (which by now has slithered off of the guy’s head) will play them on piano, occasionally adding in some percussion. You can pick from among 29 of Lewis’ greatest hits, including “The Power of Love,” “I Want a New Drug,” “The Heart of Rock n’ Roll,” “Bad is Bad” and “Doing It All for My Baby.” It’s a pretty absurd idea (and yeah, we’re pretty sure no one has done this before), but then this is the kind of silliness we’ve come to expect from W+K’s work for Old Spice and a fitting extension of the “For Hair That Gets Results” campaign, complete with a perfect title. Give “The Power of Hair” a try above or at the site, and stick around for credits after the jump. continued…

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Old Spice: ‘Anthropomorphic Hair Will Get You Laid’

W+K Portland has been very, very busy for Old Spice. First it was body spray with the “Smellcome to Manhood” campaign aka “Mom Song.” Then last week it was the triumphant return of Isaiah Mustafa and the “Interneterventions” surprise online campaign. Now, breaking the consistency of strange portmanteau puns is “For Hair That Gets Results,” marketing Old Spice’s line of hair care and styling products.

The first 30-second spot, “Meeting,” finds a studly studs mop of hair jump off his head and get a girl’s number. The lesson? If, young man, you pull this move, you’ll get a phone number that connects to a voicemail message that says, “Hey, I can’t come to the phone right now. I’m either studying for my master’s degree or having a tickle fight with my friend, Consuela. (Giggles.) Stop it, Consuela, I’m going to get you!” Yep, pretty cool.

The second, “Boardwalk,” teaches young men another valuable lesson. You see, a lady wants your hair to tell her if you can put in baby in her. You know, through the means of sexual intercourse or via a mechanical claw. Credits after the jump.

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NFL Season: Another Reason for Old Spice to Do Old Spice Things

There’s a very fine line between stupid funny and annoying, a line that Old Spice is willing to tightrope for miles and miles. Their “Unnecessary Freshness” campaign, created by W+K Portland, will hit screens starting Thursday night for the season opener. As you might expect, there will be plenty of shenanigans that don’t make sense. But, at least that’s the point.

Three new spots starring Denver Broncos wide receiver Wes Welker might make you shake your head, laugh, or both (there’s also a fourth spot featuring New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo, possibly a pity commercial since Welker darted for Denver). However, since each ad is less than 20 seconds, it’s easy to stomach the goofy jokes and images of lizards eating Welker’s legs. If commenters take to the site to rip W+K, Welker, football, me, AgencySpy itself, or a number of other things that exist, and therefore, should be ridiculed incessantly, they can hopefully agree that the running time is a plus. And, if you believe that a majority of people in America are stupid and these spots are stupid funny, then maybe W+K is onto something brilliant. Maybe.

Credits and some more unnecessary freshness after the jump.

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W+K, Oreo Relationship Concludes with ‘Super Important Test’

In case you were wondering, the domain name www.superimportanttest.com is no longer available, thanks to W+K and Oreo, who bring us, yes, a “Super Important Test,” which as we imagine was the intention is hardly a test. You have two options (cookie or cream) and you’re correct either way. Get it?

Super Important Test” marks not only the conclusion of W+K’s Oreo’s “Cookie vs. Creme” campaign that began with the buzzed-about “Whisper Fight” spot from the Super Bowl and the subsequent “Separator Machine” clips, but the relationship between W+K and the Mondelez brand itself. As you may know, Draftfcb and now the Martin Agency work primarily on the Oreo account.

Anyhow, W+K curated quite a bit of content for the website–more than 30 different videos may play after you click cookie or creme–but this type of limited platform really begs the question: What’s the point? How does this sort of advertising advance the OREO brand in any meaningful way? I’m asking a serious question, not just trying to be glib, so if there is an answer, please post a comment.

Virality for the sake of virality is turning into a common approach for most creatives, and a website full of 30 unrelated internet videos that may or may not be funny seems like a great way to waste an advertising budget. Oreo was never going to choose cookie over cream or vice versa, but it didn’t have to choose. This is a case of a clever idea that simply ran out of ingredients.

Stills and credits after the jump.

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The Old Spice Wolfdog Calls it Quits

And thus, W+K Portland and P&G bid farewell to Old Spice’s “Wolfdog,” who in the past week has garnered over 4 million views via videos such as this and this and who’s even produced a Tumblr as well as  a record. But alas, all good things must come to an end, and Wolfdog is now out as Old Spice’s director of marketing and you can see his resignation clip above. Some people, though, have told us that this campaign is fairly similar to the one from Atmosphere Proximity to promote “The Big Ad Gig.” What do you think? Check out one more clip from the week-long campaign if interested as well as credits after the jump.

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