He Who Controls the Spice

Old Spice.

Years ago, this was known as an "old man's cologne." The kind of aftershave that people said smelled like their dad. One of my first memories of this fragrance was when I was probably about 6 or 7 years old. I was running away from my brother and I hid behind the couch in our living room. My flawless hiding spot was soon found, however, and my brother had me trapped. I don't remember what I had done to deserve this punishment, exactly, but he took a bottle of Old Spice, and poured it onto my head. I clearly remember looking up and seeing the medium-sized white glass bottle tipping slowly in his hand and the clear liquid beginning to pour out - right into my eyes. And while the searing pain in my eyes was excruciating, I do actually remember thinking how much Old Spice smelled like my dad.

Since that incident back in the day (but probably not because of it), Old Spice had kind of fallen into obscurity. Yes, it was still a staple scent in cologne, aftershave and deodorant, but people didn't talk about it that much. I remember seeing a few Old Spice commercials a while back starring Bruce Campbell, but it wasn't until just recently when Isaiah Mustafa made every woman's dream come true (on a horse!) during the Super Bowl that Old Spice's fan base exploded.

Now, I'm not here to show you this commercial (in fact, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, click here), I'm here to show you how this commercial was made. Maybe it's because I'm a writer, maybe it's because I'd like to get into advertising and/or film making, or maybe it's because I've always had a fascination with "Behind the Scenes" videos (I was watching The Making of Thriller at age 4), but I found the clip below absolutely fascinating.

Now, yes, this is a long video, and that fact will send most of you running for the hills, but it's also a very entertaining video about how this Old Spice commercial was made - I recommend it. And, as you know, you can always trust my recommendations.



For those of you who don't want to watch a 20 minute video (or can't watch it at this time because you're at work and the boss is RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!), here's a quick little fun link for you, too. Click on the link below and then zoom in on the map by clicking on the red balloon a couple of times.

Sharks from Space

It's pretty cool what Google Earth can find.

I'm on a horse.