Terry, Isaiah Are at It Again in W+K’s ‘Checkmate’ for Old Spice

By Erik Oster 

In early August W+K Portland launched a new campaign for Old Spice with the 30-second “And So It Begins,” featuring spokesmen Isaiah Mustafa and Terry Crews together in the same ad for the first time, promising it was the first in a series. About a week later, the agency released a follow-up, the 15-second “Interruption.” Now, the two pitchmen square off again in the third installment in the series, “Checkmate.”

The 30-second spot opens with Crews mocking Mustafa‘s signature line, saying, “Hello ladies…is what a dummy would say! Smart people use Bearglove!” in his signature yell. He then finds himself on top of a tree, with Mustafa as a woodpecker near its base. The scene shifts to a courtroom, where Crews, complete with long white wig, yields a large mallet, but Mustafa has one trick left up his sleeve, ending the ad by declaring “checkmate.” Like previous spots, the ad ends by asking viewers to “Make a Smellmitment” and choose between Timber and Bearglove. The new installment is probably the most entertaining effort in the series thus far, coming the closest to living up to the potential of the Crews/Mustafa mashup. Opening with Crews mimicking Mustafa‘s line is a nice touch and from there the craziness only increases, leading to a surreal ending. Hopefully next time around we get to see Mustafa making fun of Crews shouting and muscle flexing. There should still be plenty of life left in the campaign, as W+K promised six more ads following “Interruption.”

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