Fabio is New Old Spice Guy?

Many of you have emailed me with the alert that His Hair and Chesticleness, Fabio, is the new Old Spice Guy. Previous incarnations of the Old Spice Guy were the marvelously smooth Isaiah Mustafa.

Alas, Fabio doesn’t quite have the same appeal. For one thing, I can’t quite understand him. For another, there’s a totally different attitude with Fabio’s spots vs. Mustafa’s.

Here’s an example: Fabio seems to be … I have no idea what he’s doing here:

I will admit, this one made me giggle:

though the explanation suggests they’re also mocking Fabio’s use of language: “Smell the smell that is of what New Old Spice Guy Fabio has when he says Fiji.”

Huh?!

Mustafa’s style in the ads was more appealing to me:

Now, from this one, it seems Fabio is challenging Isaiah to a duel, and Mashable confirms that:

The Mashable article states that Mustafa will respond sometime around 1pm today

but I haven’t seen anything yet.

It’s up! And I totally LOL’d:

If so, I wonder – whose team are you on? Team Fabio or Team Isaiah? I’m all for the Old Old Spice Guy myself. And I also think I’ve been thinking about Old Spice a bit too much.

 

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Random Musings

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  1. Chelsea says:

    Oh geez, Fabio continues to creep me out. Ick.

  2. I agree, Fabio is just plain yuck with a large dollop of creepy. Although I wonder exactly WHAT demographic they are aiming at with those spots- Obviously not men, but I don’t think women either… Mustafa is sexy and his voice (among other things) is great. Fabio is just a caricature.

  3. Ana Farrish says:

    The Fabio spots are just bizarre. Sign me up for Team Isaiah—way more sexy. Also, does anyone else think Fabio looks kind of like Michael Bolton?

  4. I love the originals, I don’t get the new ones at all…  Fabio doesn’t seem attractive, the spots aren’t funny, I just don’t get it.

  5. Elizabeth says:

    OMG, I’m totally Team Isaiah.

    Every time I have thought of Fabio in the last 15 years, I remember his “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” campaign, including this gem:



    I just hear his voice all the time saying: ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter…spray.”

  6. I think I got a bit of throw up in my mouth watching the New Old Spice guy… Can we PLEASE bring back Isaiah? Please???

  7. StarOpal says:

    Team Isaiah. No contest.

    But I admit I miss The Chin:
    http://youtu.be/Af1OxkFOK18
    http://youtu.be/Yg6bZSM48vU

  8. bjvl says:

    Bah on them both.

    Give me The Bruce.

  9. tracykitn says:

    Fabio’s neck, especially, is really showing his age. I love my grandpa, but that’s not sexy…Team Isaiah!

  10. darlynne says:

    Team Isaiah, didn’t even have to think twice. Fabio is just all kinds of ridiculous.

  11. Julie Brannagh says:

    Isaiah. It isn’t even a contest.

    Swan dive!

  12. JamiSings says:

    I’m team Bruce Campbell!





    He was a way better Old Spice guy then either of them. They can be Oder Zombies that Bruce takes out with his Old Spice Boomstick.

  13. ghn says:

    Team Isaiah for me, defintely! But I must admit I enjoyed the Fabio long hair spot, probaboy because I am growing out my own locks – I am creeping up on tailbone length right now… :-p

  14. Milena says:

    All right, I’ll obviously be in the minority here, but I like the Fabio ads. They’re funny. OTOH, I don’t like Old Spice products anyway, so I’m only watching for entertainment value, which may be influencing my decision.

    Spamword: money58. Yeah, I’m guessing models still need money when they’re 58.

  15. ashley says:

    I loved Isaiah. maybe cuz he’s younger?  and I think people dislike fabio partly because we all got so attached to isaiah (not spelled phonetically omg hard)

  16. India says:

    I don’t actually like ANY of them (the commercials—the guys are just fine.  Especially Bruce.), but perhaps that’s because when I was growing up, Old Spice was what fathers wore.  Not hunks, but MY FATHER and all my friends’ fathers.  It was solid, respectable, boring.

    Jade East, on the other hand, was what Dads wore when they took Moms out, and it was what Daughters swiped to use themselves!  I still have a soft spot for Jade East….

  17. JamiSings says:

    @India – Really? When I was a kid my brothers and all their friends wore Old Spice. My dad doesn’t wear any sort of aftershave. He tends to have allergic reactions to it of course. In fact, I didn’t know any dads growing up who wore it. If they wore anything at all it used to be Aqua Velva – which I hate.

    I guess it’s different for everyone. Old Spice was such a teenage boy thing when I was a kid in the early 80s.

  18. Kimberly M says:

    Ok, my WHOLE family is definitely on the Isaiah sign-up sheet. Even my mom and she’s 51, plenty old enough to remember a time when Fabio was a known (and popular) entity, along with something called an 8-track and bubble up.

  19. H. Vert says:

    Team Isaiah.  Hands down.  Fabio just makes me think of bad cover art.

  20. SB Sarah says:

    I’ve updated the entry with the response from Isaiah Mustafa—Mano y mano en el bano.

    It’s tomorrow at noon. This should be interesting.

  21. jill says:

    Isiah *IS* the Old Spice Guy, no one else can ever take his place.

  22. Keri Ford says:

    Team Isaiah.

    also, I giggle a little when I try to say Old, Old Spice Guy.

  23. Maria says:

    Well, it turns out that the whole Fabio thing is a brilliant advertising move – I don’t really think they are trying to replace the Old Old Spice Guy; they are just trying to make the Old Spice Guy thing interesting again. And it totally works. Now Isaiah can make a glorious comeback without anyone feeling bored.

  24. Karenmc says:

    I saw the Fabio videos on YouTube over the weekend. They’re terrible (and I left the sound off, or I might be calling them something worse than that). The upside was that all of them had far more dislikes than likes.

    But with the duel, the folks at Weiden+Kennedy, the ad agency that always brings the creativity, seem to be up to something hilarious yet again. I’m setting my egg timer for 9am PDT tomorrow.

  25. Taylor Reynolds says:

    Team Isaiah all the way. I mean, come on, he’s hot AND he saved football…which means we get awesome commercials, probably starring him, in February. Fabio is creepy. And weird. And unintelligible.

    hope44 – I hope Fabio goes away. It’s a great marketing ploy for Old Spice, as long as they end up with Isaiah.

  26. HellyBelly says:

    Team Isaiah fashure.

    Fabio looks like he’s escaped from a mental institution, I can totally see him in the snow labyrinth at the end of the Shining…“heeeere’s Faaaaaaabio…..

  27. Jewel says:

    Isaiah!
    Isaiah!
    Isaiah!

  28. Jewel says:

    Although really, can we go with Grover? Because that Muppet send-up of the first Isaiah commercial was too funny!

  29. I’m with Jewel.  Team Grover, FTW!

    However, if I had to choose between the real duelists, it would be Isaiah.  I give Fabio points for being able to laugh at himself, but Isaiah is The Old Spice Guy. And he fixed that mess in the NFL.

    The real winner?  This ad campaign.  We’re here, watching it and talking about it.  That says it all.

  30. Kristin says:

    Now that the challenge has been issued and met, I understand bringing Fabio in. I am completely on Team Isaiah and can’t wait to see hit kick Fabio’s ass.

  31. Anony Miss says:

    Every ounce of my advertising-major heart worships at the corporate offices of the marketing people of Old Spice.

    Love it.

    Love it all.

    Love it all because even when it’s bad, we’re talking about the ads, and the product, and it’s magic.

    Good advertising makes me weep.

  32. sweetsiouxsie says:

    Well, the pictures wouldn’t show on the computer, but I seem to remember that Fabio had a low forehead unlike the fabulously good looking Johnny Depp who has a nice high forehead which is more to my taste.

  33. JamiSings says:

    Sarah, please add Bruce’s spots to this! Pretty please? He’s SO superior to these two and we need more people on the far better Team Bruce! *falls on her knees and begs* Please???? *gives you the sad puppy dog eyes look*

  34. Sharon says:

    Fabio is one of those guys best sampled in small doses.

    Team Isaiah here for sure…and not just because of the Old Spice spots. He is an occasional guest on Greg Gutfeld’s Red Eye and he proves very nicely he’s not just another pretty face (and body). He’s smart, really funny, and very quick.

  35. ShellBell says:

    Isaiah Mustafa!

  36. Team Isaiah all the way!

    Sorry Fabio… your time has passed.

  37. Wendy says:

    Bahahahaha. 

    Isaiah. He brings me a professional football season.  hahahahaha

    Okay. I’ll stop chuckling like a lunatic now. It’s been a long day.

  38. Team Bruce all the way! Sign me up Jami!

    I remember I was so excited when I caught one of those when they first started. (like being excited to hear about another Evil Dead movie with the Brucester … but then I’m a little weird so yeah)

    I think the back and forth is fun between the two. Though I think it would be friken hilarious to have “I can’t believe it’s not butter body wash” at some point. How can you go from butter flavored spread to old spice?

  39. Lara Amber says:

    Ick.  Fabio is OLD. 

    What’s next Wilfred Brimley?

  40. Deb Kinnard says:

    @Lara, if we’re going for Boomers and older, my vote goes to Sean Connery. No matter how old he gets, he’s still Le Yum in my book.

    Absent that, first choice: Grover. Second choice: Isaiah.

    I can sure see why they’re advertising Old Spice again, though. It was what my Dad wore and I always associate it with that demographic. But to trot out Fabio? Squick.

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