No, that gentleman on the left isn't auditioning for the Taye Diggs part in a remake of "How Stella Got Her Groove Back." It's Isaiah Mustafa as the impossibly confident beefcake guy in the Old Spice ads. You probably recognize him (even if you didn't know his name), just as you also probably recognize Jonathan Goldsmith, below, as the Porfirio
Rubirosa-like playboy in those Dos Equis ads where he's billed as "the most interesting man in
the world." He could give Tony Stark lessons.
Both these campaigns are a lot more entertaining than almost any of this year's movies. They're so smart and funny you'd think a live-action, PG-13 Pixar had made them. So the arrival of two new Old Spice ads a week ago is cause for minor rejoicing (that power-saw bit!). It also raises an inevitable, if vexing, question, one on the order of magnitude of Beatles vs. Stones? Butch vs. Sundance? Death vs. dishonor? That question is: Who'd win a duel between these these two guys? It's a tough one, all right. In "Twilight" terms, would Old Spice be a vampire and Dos Equis a werewolf?
As you ponder your choice, stay watching, my friends.
