Mano a Mano en el Bano: A Recap from RedHeadedGirl

Bitchin' Blog Posts

by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | July 26, 2011 | Tuesday at 8:25 pm | 53 Comments

It is a total freaking shame that I was at the Costco all afternoon waiting on my tires, which were being changed, rotated, massaged with hot stones and eucalyptus oil, and then waxed in intimate places, or at least I assume so because it took a long ass time, during which I contemplated the possible need for a 48 gallon drum of ketchup. I missed the Old Spice Guy vs. Fabio showdown - but fear not. Red Headed Girl was there to watch the whole thing:

Look guys, it’s no secret that I have a soft spot for Fabio. Maybe you didn’t know that, but I didn’t keep a secret, I just didn’t mention it. Which is totally not the same thing as a secret.

However, I adore the Old Spice Guy. He gives me tickets to that thing I like! And diamonds (which I could totally sell and pay for my stupid legal education, or at least get a decent pair of boots)! So this whole duel thing- Fabio as the New Old Spice Guy? I’m concerned, in a Tin Gunn kind of way. I’m not entirely sure Fabio can pull off a swan dive without breaking a hip or something.

Besides, I distrust men that think they have better hair than me. And my hair is GREAT. So as far as I am concerned, Isaiah Mustafa is the One True Old Spice Guy and Fabio is That Guy.

So first we have a video from Isaiah saying that yes, this is potentially the greatest internet duel of the 21st century, and given the pathetic showings of duels from the 17th, 18th, 20th, 19th, 16th and 13th-15th centuries, this could be the Greatest Internet Duel of All Time (or GIDOAT). And Fabio gets props for being the only person to EVER challenge the Old Spice Guy to anything. So there’s that.

(The Old Spice Guy doesn’t sleep, he waits.)

Old Spice Guy sets the rules here:

You vote by clicking on buttons on that video, and/or by “liking, sharing, commenting, tweeting, posting, or other things all smart internet people do.” AND THEN THERE IS A NIGHT VISION TOP HAT which is something I didn’t know I needed, but now I clearly cannot live without one.

(Also the Old Spice Guy’s towel looks so soft and fluffy. IT’S SO FLUFFY I CAN’T STAND IT.)

….And then Fabio calls the Old Spice Guy gross (…). And welcomes the Old Old Spice Guy to “your nightmare. Starring Fabio. Written by Fabio. Directed by Fabio. Stunts done by Fabio, and catering of homemade treats and sliced fruits done by, of course, Fabio.”

So there you have it. Not quite an Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny, but I’ll take it. MAY THE BEST TOWEL WIN.

(And to cut the Team Bruce people off at the pass, I have nothing against Bruce Campbell. I just adore him where he is- blowing shit up and chewing scenery on Burn Notice, as God intended. Plus he never got me tickets to that thing I like, or presented me with puppies, or was ever, as far as I know, on a horse. (moo.) Or cow.)

Sarah adds: Ok, now that I’ve watched both videos, can we discuss how PERFECTLY ROUND and ALARMINGLY SHINY Fabio’s mantitty is? It’s only 2:29pm EDT and Fabio has 2045 dislikes vs. 330 likes, while Old Spice Guy Isaiah Mustafa has 4106 likes vs 21 dislikes. Looks like Fabio is having his hair, chest and ass handed to him.

ETA: And now Fabio and Isaiah are doing fan response videos one after another. Fabio empties a cup of ice over a model of a city.

So let me ask you this: are you in any way more likely to buy Old Spice anything at this point? I confess, I may go sniff it in the grocery store, but if memory serves, I don’t think it’ll be a good scent for Hubby. Or me.

Filed: General Bitching, Random Musings

Tagged: wtfery, old spice, man titty, isaiah mustafa, fabio, chesticles

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Gretchen Galway said on 07.26.11 at 08:58 PM • [link]

Best intro ever to a blog post. My car went to the Costco Spa recently and I know whereof you speak. Oh, and I vote Isaiah. He can rotate my tires anytime.
DreadPirateRachel said on 07.26.11 at 09:09 PM • [link]

Fabio is incredibly creepy and almost incomprehensible.
DreadPirateRachel said on 07.26.11 at 09:11 PM • [link]

Team old Old Spice Guy all the way. Isaiah is welcome in my shower any day! I also think it’s hilarious that Fabio has a terrifyingly luxurious bathroom, while the old Old Spice Guy’s bathroom is… normal.
Anony Miss said on 07.26.11 at 09:12 PM • [link]

I have bought Old Spice deo since these ads began. And I feel incredibly awesome every time I use it (works pretty well too).
Ana Farrish said on 07.26.11 at 09:20 PM • [link]

I’m totally digging this showdown and I think it’s pretty brilliant marketing. The only reason I won’t buy Old Spice is that my dad wore it, and while the scent is very nostalgic and comforting for me, the association is too strong to want my husband to wear it.
Karmyn said on 07.26.11 at 09:23 PM • [link]

Fabio is starting to look like a really bad aging drag queen that let their beauty regmin fail them badly.
Miri said on 07.26.11 at 09:28 PM • [link]

I agree with the comment about the bathrooms. Isaiah looks like he could be standing in my bathroom, (don’t I wish) while Fabio looks to be on stage at Caesars Palace.
I must admit I have a soft spot for “The Fabs” being a romance fan who came up in the 80’s. When that fan started blowing his hair around I peed laughing.
I’m torn between nostalgia and eye candy. Must we choose. Is there not enough Old Spice to go around?
Wren Truesong said on 07.26.11 at 10:11 PM • [link]

Best blog post ever! I love your writing style. *grins* And yes, totally Isaiah all the way. Fabio really did seem kind of creepy, but I was too young to read romance novels in the 80s, so he doesn’t get my nostalgia vote.
Heather said on 07.26.11 at 10:27 PM • [link]

I’m sooo Team Isaiah. And the very end of his video is absolutely hilarious.

As for Fabio: if you look at just his torso, he looks like a woman. A woman who takes care of herself, of course: she works out at the gym, she goes jogging in her tank top. But yeah, The Fabs looks like a she.
Theresa Meyers said on 07.26.11 at 10:31 PM • [link]

OK, the minute I heard Fabio was trying to advertise for Old Spice my first reaction was an immediate “Wow, that spice is old!”

Team Isaiah. All. The. Way.

spaminator: short69

Hey, I’m 5’ 3”, ok, 5’ 2.75”, but still that’s not too short!
Erin Griggs said on 07.26.11 at 10:33 PM • [link]

Ana, when I first started dating my husband, he wore Old Spice deodorant, and I made him get new deodorant tout de suite—not because I don’t like the smell, but it my dad’s everyday aftershave, and…um. No.

He was amenable when I showed him my…persuasive rationale.

I am totally Team Isaiah, but I think the marketing plan is genius; I like that they are both showing a good sense of humor about it, even though it’s gotta be hella scripted.
JamiSings said on 07.26.11 at 10:44 PM • [link]

I stick with Team Bruce. If the advertising people had been smart at the last second Fabio and Isaiah would have been crushed to death by Bruce’s chin.

Face it, Bruce is better looking, a better actor, plus faithfully married to a woman he adores - which makes him all the hotter.
Amy said on 07.26.11 at 11:09 PM • [link]

I had to buy deodorant today for my 13-yo son to keep in his locker at school. (It is ON THE SCHOOL SUPPLY LIST, you guys. Those poor teachers.)

Yes, I bought Old Spice, just in honor of Isaiah. I have to say this is a pretty brilliant marketing campaign because even though I knew I was being affected by the advertising, I didn’t care.

And thumbs up on RHG’s comment on the Bruce. I LOVE him, but I love him better on Burn Notice. (As God intended…heh.) Isaiah pretty much rocks the Old Spice Guy. (Fabio just creeps me out and isn’t even a contender!)

captcha: “data93”—I was in grad school in 93, and probably still have my experimental data from that year somewhere on my hard drive…
TracyS said on 07.26.11 at 11:42 PM • [link]

I love the commercials but I won’t buy anything Old Spice. Hubby wore the deodorant while we were dating. It didn’t really work very well LOL so he switched.
BrooklynShoeBabe said on 07.26.11 at 11:46 PM • [link]

Since the Old Spice Guy’s commercials, I have started buying Old Spice. (They even have new scents.) I bought my brother the Old Spice gift set for Christmas (deordorant, body wash and soap on a rope) and he was thrilled. (He likes body washes.) I also just bought my husband Old Spice sport scented deordorant. Not to mention, they have coupons in the paper.
Julie Brannagh said on 07.27.11 at 12:06 AM • [link]

My husband uses Old Spice deodorant. He doesn’t look like Isaiah Mustafa.

I think there should be federal legislation requiring Mr. Mustafa to wear nothing but a towel on a daily basis.
Jocelyn Modo said on 07.27.11 at 12:30 AM • [link]

?Team Mustafa?

Not only is Isaiah Mustafa superyumalicious. The name
Mustafa

is just really fun to say.
Abby said on 07.27.11 at 12:40 AM • [link]

You know what, as long as this thing allows me to keep gaping at Isaiah Mustafa in a towel, I really don’t care.
delphia2000 said on 07.27.11 at 02:08 AM • [link]

Bloody brilliant campaign! If Louise Fury is reading this, let Fabio know he’s a winner in my book.

And for every person who took the time to make an ageist comment, I hope you get the chance to grow old.

Amy…saggy boobs and wrinkles and still believing in romance.
BethC said on 07.27.11 at 02:40 AM • [link]

Definitely Team Isaiah. For all the usual reasons, plus he’s a high school teacher who models & acts in his spare time.
Heidi Cullinan said on 07.27.11 at 02:58 AM • [link]

I admit, between Old Spice Guy (the one and only, the original, the true) and the fact that it was called SWAGGER, in all caps and complete with Old English font, I bought my husband a multipack of their deodorant in Costco. He likes it too, so I’ll be getting it again. Plus he does smell very good.

Also, while I hate most advertisements, I really am a sucker for a campaign like this, and so yeah, I’ll probably pick up some body wash at some point too. And if I see something right now with his picture on it or something that makes me feel like I’m Team Mufasa? Totally. It will go in my cart.
Jesse said on 07.27.11 at 03:01 AM • [link]

Ha, that’s hilarious. Mustafa all the way, baby. That is one gorgeous, and also seriously talented and funny, man.

Well, I’d say it worked. If my brother wants me to pick up deodorant/body wash for him (happens surprisingly often), I’m going to go straight for the Old Spice - they’ve made themselves memorable in a positive way. With no particular urge to anything else, that makes Old Spice the default choice.
Heidi Cullinan said on 07.27.11 at 03:01 AM • [link]

Crap. tired fingers and brain. MUSTAFA.
Kristin said on 07.27.11 at 03:56 AM • [link]

Team Isaiah all the freakin’ way! He’s hot, sexy, and understandable!
JaniceG said on 07.27.11 at 04:03 AM • [link]

Team Isaiah! (I would bet that he has been a singer - you can see every fabulous ab muscle so you can tell his breath support technique is great)

I am interested to see in these comments that some people have indeed actually bought Old Spice because of this campaign. I was assuming that, despite the buzz, it wouldn’t result in any actual sales but I guess they knew better than I did who buys deodorant/scent for men, and it apparently isn’t usually men!
Vicki said on 07.27.11 at 06:08 AM • [link]

My husband uses Old Spice deodorant. He wore it when we started going out and I have kept buying it for him. No, he doesn’t smell like my dad. My dad tended to smell of ether (I am that old) when he came home from the hospital.

I think I am Team Isaiah though I am torn by my loyalty to the many romances I read graced by Fabio who is still great, too.

reached 32: yes, long since.
Cakes said on 07.27.11 at 07:03 AM • [link]

Brilliant ads. Team Isaiah. No, we don’t buy Old Spice. My husband says it smells like failure.
Cakes said on 07.27.11 at 07:39 AM • [link]

omgosh! This little series is really cracking me up!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7kLHgFPaEg&feature=player_embedded
Susan said on 07.27.11 at 08:18 AM • [link]

Isaiah, all the way. Why didn’t any of my high school teachers look that good? We were deprived back in the day.

I’m also down with Julie Brannagh’s Idea.

No, I’m not going to buy Old Spice anything because I have no man to buy for. But this ad campaign is funny.
Marty said on 07.27.11 at 08:32 AM • [link]

I knew you bitches would be on top of this duel, GIDOAT LOL.
I am cheering for Isaiah.
jocelynnesimone said on 07.27.11 at 11:35 AM • [link]

I am still team Isaiah but I feel bad for Fabio. I think Fabio lost more because his spots were poorly scripted and didn’t capture the charm, graciousness, wit and self-effacing humor that usually makes him full of awesome.
Mitzi Flyte/Macie Carter said on 07.27.11 at 11:44 AM • [link]

I love Old Spice because My Guy wears it. He’s not like either of these advertising icons…he’s 69. (And, yes, I’m old, too). But damn, he’s cute and I love the way he smells. It’s not the scent so much as the memory connected with the scent.
Virginia E said on 07.27.11 at 12:39 PM • [link]

Team Bruce: Love the smile. And yes, Bruce was on a horse, Comet the Wonderhorse according to the screen credits. Bruce starred in a western tv series that was steampunk before the term existed. It was called the Adventures of Briscoe County, Jr. (1993-1994). I still miss that series.
Kimberly Menozzi said on 07.27.11 at 02:15 PM • [link]

For the current rounds, I’m with Team Isaiah.

However, if you don’t mind, I’ll continue to rock it “old school” with John Bennett Perry - who will always be the ORIGINAL Old Spice guy for me. (And he’s Matthew Perry’s dad, so that’s two generations of sometime hotty going on there…)
bjvl said on 07.27.11 at 03:03 PM • [link]

My guy uses Old Spice bodywash & deodorant (classic scent).

He is NOM. :)

I don’t have a horse in this race, so I’m just going to enjoy it.

Barbara
Team Bruce
jayhjay said on 07.27.11 at 03:25 PM • [link]

I’m concerned, in a Tin Gunn kind of way.

LOL, that totally cracked me up b/c I hear the TIm Gunn voice exactly in my head saying this. With the slight head tilt and the hand on the chin.
SydneyLCarroll said on 07.27.11 at 03:31 PM • [link]

Team Bruce over here! That being said, Mustafa wins the actual contest for me, hands down. I never got the attraction of Fabio growing up in the 80’s, but I still like him—how can you not like a guy who got hit in the face by a goose while riding a rollercoaster?

On ze product note, the new Old Spice scents are pretty nice. I’d buy some of them for Hubby if he didn’t have such a huge backstock of lame-gift aftershave. I liked the Fiji one so much I bought the deodorant for myself.
Laura (in PA) said on 07.27.11 at 03:36 PM • [link]

Mustafa team all the way. I could die happy if I found him in my bathroom.

He’s a high school teacher? Really? How do the girls in his class get anything done?

Fabio is creepy. The end.

I don’t buy Old Spice because I have the Dad issue too. But it reminds me of him, so that’s nice. :)
Annie said on 07.27.11 at 04:28 PM • [link]

I wear Old Spice deodorant (original scent). I haven’t tried any of the other scents though. Old spice is kind of masculine for a chick, but I have an aversion to the things that they scent women’s deodorants with.

That said, I would use it even without the ads.
bjvl said on 07.27.11 at 04:49 PM • [link]

@Annie at 06:28am
Me, too! Most women’s scents are cloying, not fresh-smelling to/on me.
Lily B said on 07.27.11 at 05:02 PM • [link]

Great PR, fun to watch, no intention of buying any Old Spice products. On the very occasional moments a certain relative deigns to use deodorant or whatever, it is Old Spice. Which then is associated in my mind with body odor that someone is attempting to conceal too late. Ick.

I also am disliking the “he’s OLD” comments about Fabio. So freaking what?

“recently87” my spamword, and by god, I hope to live to that age and be really, really OLD. And still hot to 88-year-olds.
Heather Greye said on 07.27.11 at 06:17 PM • [link]

Team Isaiah!

(But seriously, Team Bruce’s experience commercial is my all-time fave.)

I never liked Fabio when he was on romance covers, so I can’t bear to vote for him now. Even to see what the thanks for voting video is.

As for whether we’d buy it, well…my 14-year-old grabbed the deodorant and body wash at the store. So, yes, the ads worked on him.
Vicki said on 07.27.11 at 08:01 PM • [link]

Team Fabio thank you video made me giggle. Maybe I’m “old” but Fabio seems to be holding up pretty well.
Madd said on 07.27.11 at 08:04 PM • [link]

I love Old Spice. My grandfather used to wear it and my husband recently picked up the Old Spice deodorant. I gotta say, it smells good on him. I’ve got to go with Team Isaiah. He’s cute and I’ve never really been able t o get in to Fabio. I liked him best in his “I can’t believe it’s not butter” days. Before t hen he stuck me as being a little too “I’m too sexy” a la Right Said Fred.

They’re just both lucky they’re not up against Dos Equis’ Most Interesting Man .
Bunnie said on 07.27.11 at 11:55 PM • [link]

Team Isaiah all the way! That is one delicious man.
I’m a girly girl, but I use Old Spice Pure Sport body wash every day. I don’t do the fruity/floral scent thing so Old Spice it is.
Kate Pearce said on 07.28.11 at 12:03 AM • [link]

I really like the smell of Old Spice in all its various incarnations and I buy it for my hubby and 3 teenage boys. I am surrounded by it all day! The contest just makes me laugh and keep buying it. :)
Jazzlet said on 07.28.11 at 12:26 AM • [link]

My oldest brother wore Old Spice, so no I would NEVER buy it for my man. Don’t buy anything like that for him as he’s bearded so no aftershave and we both prefer unscented deodourants (me so it doesn’t clash with whichever Dior I am wearing).

Love Isaiah though :)
Anna Richland said on 07.28.11 at 06:47 AM • [link]

Buddy (and fellow Golden Heart nominee!) Julie Brannagh sent me to look up Bruce Campbell’s commercials.

Oh. My. Freaking. Out. Laughing. Dropped my beer bottle on the living room floor, laughing too hard over Hungry Like the Wolf. And the making of video—!! (so scripted too!) Watch both, please, please.

(the beer was still 2/3 full - and didn’t break on the hardwood - so not a disaster, but it was all because of Bruce.) By the way, thanks for reminding me of Briscoe County Jr. - like Remington Steele, Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and that show with the airplane and the monkey in the South Pacific, all things I need to see again.

Although perhaps, like a Willie Nelson concert, current viewings won’t have the same magic as the twenty-year old memories and I should just savor the idea of Briscoe County Jr.

I’d vote for Hungry like the Wolf if I could. Having a hard time choosing between nostalgia and waxed abs, though. A very hard time.
LisaJo said on 07.28.11 at 07:36 AM • [link]

Team Isaiah! Fabio looks a bit too much like a pre-op to me, and I can’t trust a man with better hair than me (mine isn’t as good as RHG’s). I know what my brother is getting for Christmas!

are82: I am NOT! Not for a good.. *tries to do math*... LOTS of years!
Philippa Chapman said on 07.28.11 at 09:38 AM • [link]

Isaiah Mustapha was on ‘Chuck’, so gets my vote over plastic Fabio!
Anna Bowling said on 07.28.11 at 02:10 PM • [link]

I will always have a soft spot for Fabio, but I’d love to see him being his awesome self in an aging gracefully way rather than being presented as stuck in time two decades ago. I don’t think that shows him to best advantage. I’d rather see his persona as more of an advisor. That could be fun.

Still team Isaiah because he owns the Old Spice Guy essence. Not the secret cauldron of stuff from which all Old Spice products are distilled (though okay, he probably does; I would not be surprised) but the sheer attitude is perfect. He’s got it, he knows it, no contest.
Pickle said on 07.30.11 at 11:33 PM • [link]

Totally an 80’s girl (graduated HS in mid-80’s), but Fabio never did it for me. Isaiah Mustafa IS OLD SPICE for me. Do you think my teenage son would use it? I’m thinkin’ no.

Team Isaiah all the way!
Miss Moppet said on 08.08.11 at 10:20 PM • [link]

Team Origina Guy! Due to the original Old Spice Guy commercial (I’m on a horse), I started buying my guy the Denali scented deoderant which smells unbearably good to both of us. I’m a sheep. I don’t think this will make me buy any MORE products per se but I’ve read and heard that most ads don’t really foster more sales so much as more brand recognition. The most famous and successful commercial campaign of all time was “I’d like to buy the world a coke” which didn’t result in any significant increase in Coke-A-Cola sales according so something I watched on tv on a fancy smart people channel (I think the program was called The Soda Wars or Pop Wars or something).