I Like The New Old Spice

[Atrin]

And I bet I'm not the only one.

I have a bottle of classic formula from India and a bottle of the genuinely pre-PG classic formula (they're both the same, though the genuine old one has lost some efficacy) and I have a bottle of the new stuff. And I will be honest with you, the differences that I smell between the two formulas are trivial. In fact I would not be surprised if the differences are due to the chemistry of the new bottle rather than a change to the formula itself.

And I believe the changes that ARE apparent in Proctor and Gamble made have improved the scent.

The scent of the original to me is too harsh, and too simple. There's range, but it smells like only two things at each end. The minute hints of a difference P&G has given it makes the scent more refined. It smooths it out. It simply wears better on the skin after dry down.

But again, it all smells 90% the same.

If you're picking one or the other save your money and don't listen to the nay-sayers. If you simply want to try both, go for it though, but the difference once you wear it is very small.

To apply a big metaphor to a small difference: The ship on the new bottle belongs to an Admiral. The ship on the Shulton bottle belongs to a man who I imagine Captain Jack Sparrow would smell like.

 

[The Nid Hog]

As they say, YMMV.

 

[luvmysuper]

as they say, ymmv.

+2

 

[MrMoJoe]

I too, think the "new" stuff is great, and it smells just like my recollection of the "old" stuff. According to P&G, it is indeed the same.

 

[Topgumby]

The ship on the old bottle belongs to someone like Lucky Jack Aubrey.



The ship on the new bottle belongs to a conglomerate that gives guys named Skip and Chad rides on a boatie-go-round at an amusement bark and sells them cupcakes and cheap pirate hats that have LED lights that spell out "SWAGGER" at the ride's exit.





(I actually like the new stuff, but not as much as the original...)

 

[The Nid Hog]

I was waiting for you to show up.

 

[jrowen]

When I started this ventures, I started paying attention to every shaving aisle of every store I was in. It was then that I saw the Old Spice after shave splash on some shelf. I always passed it up, becuase I had heard that it had been reformulated, and like most reformulations would probably be worse for it. One of those times, I just bit the bullet and bought it, as I figured if it was awful, I'd just toss it in the bin. I don't know what the original formulation smelled like, but this was the first scent that my wife didn't describe as "like my grandpa" or "old mannish", even though her grandfather probably did wear it (the orignal version). Its not my favorite, but I actually do like it, too. Kinda makes me wornder if the current stuff is tolerable, how good must the original have been?

 

[toddsmith7378]

Well, that's interesting that someone has this opinion......

Here's my major points of contention.................

So P&G changed the glass to plastic on the bottle, and changed the ship to a sailboat........purely aesthetic yes, but it serves as an example of P&G's strategy with the product. What kind of logic modernizes a product called old spice is beyond me....

This is where as a modern consumer I become a little agitated. It's just god aweful obvious that P&G is pushing the envelope as far as they can to milk an established "brand" for what it's worth, without even thinking about how obvious it is to it's older established base market, or anyone old enough to actually remember "Old Spice"

I'm the one who did the smell test on another thread and even posted pics, so I can with no reservation attest to the smells of the current top 3 old spices (vi jonn, p&g, and india shulton). Also, I'm not some older dude who is just mad they got rid of my old stuff. I'm a 31 year old guy who grew up with my dad wearing the stuff everyday. I'm fine with them changing it, but they lied. I do not like that at all.

Point being, I really have nothing to gain here by blasting P&G. I can live without the stuff, but I'm not going hide the fact that I feel a sense of honest betrayal, when I know there is a product being marketed specifically as a product of nostalga that just isn't quite it. I mean, is it not an add pitch for the classic formula, "you wouldn't be here if your grandfather hadn't worn this", or something like that........which is just a big fat lie since it is simply untrue. This is not that stuff at all. Why tell me it is? Can't they just sell a new product? Or admit it's a modern rendition, so guys who want the stuff they remember from the old days can know. Hey, this is like that stuff, but it's not really it. Hey, then I'd know what to expect when I make the purchase.

I mean puuhhleaaazzzeee do this with some other product that is not called, Old Spice.......it's called old spice. It's CALLED OLD SPICE. OLD SPICE "OLD'. "OLD". I can't repeat that enough.

Seriously, call it NEW OLD SPICE, or something. At least when they changed Coke back in the day they respected the intelligence of the masses enough to call it "New" Coke.

When the name of the product itself implies that you are getting an authentic piece of nostalgia, it's just a matter of principle to be unhappy.

I'd defend modernization on any other playing field, really, but A PRODUCT with the name "Old" in it....it's OLD SPICE. Come on....

This is obviously a dubious marketing strategy, but to attempt it with this particular name and this particular product seems absolutely ludicrous and shows P&G's respect for the intelligence of their customers.

"Don't pee down my back and tell me it's rainin.", an old quote by the Duke, kind of sums it up.

ps. The bottle is plastic with the vi jonn stuff and it still smells closer to the original....

 

[Niles]

(i actually like the new stuff, but not as much as the original...)

+1

 

[orchestrion]

I think something we all have to keep in mind is that we here at B&B represent a tiny sliver of the market for a product as commercialized as Old Spice. I feel (with no disrespect intended) that complaining about the evils of Procter and Gamble's marketing trickeries and falsehoods is like preaching to the choir. We all have very discerning taste when it comes to shaving products, and it's only logical that we'd pick out the minute differences in the Shulton and "new" Old Spice Classic.

To the other 99% of the consumers that buy Old Spice, the two formulas are the exact same if not dang near close to it. I don't think it's fair to say we've been betrayed by dubious marketing scandals and robbed at gunpoint by the juggernaut that is Procter and Gamble because we are, by nature, going to be nit pickers about it. They're not intending to scam people who are looking for a nostalgia trip, they're just trying to make sure people keep buying their products. And you can't blame them for that.

That being said, everyone is sure as heck entitled to his own opinion!


That also being said, I'm only 18 so it's quite possible I have no idea what the hell I'm talking about.

 

[Topgumby]

That also being said, I'm only 18 so it's quite possible I have no idea what the hell I'm talking about.

Proctor and Gamble recruits 'em young, don't they...

 

[DFrancis]

I find that while it's not quite the old stuff it is reminiscent of it. SWMBO loves it and says that if it were exactly the same it would remind her too much of her dad.

 

[Johhny Schleps]

I don't hate the P&G version, but it's not "OLD SPICE"!

 

[taffy]

Is the stuff in the uk the same as in the usa? as i like what i buy over here.

 

[red71veloce]

"Don't pee down my back and tell me it's rainin.", an old quote by the Duke, kind of sums it up.

Actually a quote from Jose Wells.....not sure if he was an old spice man or not.

 

[Cuttingboard]

I stop buying products when P&G buys them...Zirh, Art of Shaving, etc.

 

[toddsmith7378]

I think something we all have to keep in mind is that we here at B&B represent a tiny sliver of the market for a product as commercialized as Old Spice. I feel (with no disrespect intended) that complaining about the evils of Procter and Gamble's marketing trickeries and falsehoods is like preaching to the choir. We all have very discerning taste when it comes to shaving products, and it's only logical that we'd pick out the minute differences in the Shulton and "new" Old Spice Classic.

To the other 99% of the consumers that buy Old Spice, the two formulas are the exact same if not dang near close to it. I don't think it's fair to say we've been betrayed by dubious marketing scandals and robbed at gunpoint by the juggernaut that is Procter and Gamble because we are, by nature, going to be nit pickers about it. They're not intending to scam people who are looking for a nostalgia trip, they're just trying to make sure people keep buying their products. And you can't blame them for that.

That being said, everyone is sure as heck entitled to his own opinion!


That also being said, I'm only 18 so it's quite possible I have no idea what the hell I'm talking about.

It's a marketing ploy that may be working, but it's a dishonest one. Also, I can't be sure how much of the market share I represent, or people on this site for that matter. Statistics are a funny thing, samples and populations, I've taken the class......I'm just not sure that because we come to this site we are an elite few......maybe if we were talking about something a little more rare than "Old spice". In the old days, this stuff was it, the stuff.....It's truly an iconic product. I could easily surmise that there is a whole generation of men who know this isn't the stuff they used to get, and a whole generation of men who know it's not the stuff they used to smell.

I'm not trying to be a naysayer here, it's just a matter of history to see that changing an iconic product too much will hurt the "brand" and cause a loss in profits in the long run. That's why I used the coke example.

In the 80's I believe, Coke changed their formula to new coke as a widely marketed campaign......it failed miserably. Anyone who remembers that catastrophe will get the comparison.

Perhaps, P&G will successfully rewrite history here, but for those who can remember, we'll always know the truth.

Also, yes everyone is in fact entitled to their opinion, I just hope that everyone is making an informed one.

 

[Pumpkin]

Is the stuff in the uk the same as in the usa? as i like what i buy over here.

I think ours is the same as US's although I've never seen the plastic bottles here

I find that while it's not quite the old stuff it is reminiscent of it. SWMBO loves it and says that if it were exactly the same it would remind her too much of her dad.

I only remember the original from smelling my Dad...and my nose probably wasn't as developed when I was a callow youth, so it's hard to quantify the differences.

 

[toddsmith7378]

I think ours is the same as US's although I've never seen the plastic bottles here



I only remember the original from smelling my Dad...and my nose probably wasn't as developed when I was a callow youth, so it's hard to quantify the differences.

I guess there are some things I would be uncertain about....but my dad? Not me.....I remember my dad's smell. Also, I remember him giving me the stuff yearly telling me it was all I'd need to get the girls...lol.....I'd put the stuff on and whew.....It would burn and I thought it smelled too much like him.

The P&G variant is just too subtle, really. It's soft. Probably less alcohol and less of the real juices, more dilution oils or something. Just cheaper to make, like plastic rather than glass, and a little more soft, like a sailboat instead of a pirate warship.....

It's like taking a slingshot in exchange for a shotgun.

 

[MrMoJoe]

Is there any consensus as to when the change in formula and scent took place?

Some seem certain it only took place when the bottles changed from glass to plastic, which was in 2008. Since P&G purchased Old Spice in 1990, that means for 18 of the 20 years P&G has owned it, it remained unchanged. In that case, referring to the 2 different versions simply as "Shulton" (as the original, superior scent) and "P&G" (as the changed, inferior scent) is inaccurate and misleading. The old, original scent, while it may be gone, has only been gone for less than 2 years, and ain't that old after all. Unless of course, the change was made before that, which blows some theories and opinions out of the water, which brings us back to the original question, does anybody really know?