A brand reading
Old Spice.
Jester Absurdity as confidence.
The 2010 Isaiah Mustafa campaign by Wieden+Kennedy turned a stale men’s grooming brand into a national in-joke. The Jester’s move: be funnier than the category permits, and the category will let you in.
The five-layer reading.
- 01 Motivation
- Jester. Absurdity as confidence.
- 02 Mind
- ENTP
- 03 Temperament
- Sanguine
- 04 Persuasion
- Pathos
- 05 Expression
- Expressed
Quick, mischievous, allergic to seriousness. Argues by surprise. The repositioning of a heritage brand as a Jester is one of the cleaner case studies in modern brand work.
Famous spot
The Man Your Man Could Smell Like, 2010