The best TV ad ever?

Though women supposedly make most of the product choices in the household, and therefore advertising would seem to be aimed at them, the majority of objectified bodies in TV ads are still women. I used to assign an advertising analysis paper in my college writing classes, so I know there are lots of interesting ways, not just through the physical beauty or sexiness of the models, advertisers try to make us want their products by playing on our fears and desires. And I know that the average woman is supposedly less likely to be "excited" by the objectification the male body then vice versa (men excited by female objectification). Still, as a gay man, I'm a little mystified and disappointed that sexy men are still outnumbered by sexy women in advertising.

So maybe that's why the current Old Spice ad with the centaur in the shower makes me stop fast-forwarding through our DVR'd shows every time I see it. Damn, that is one sexy ad. A centaur (half-man, half-horse) is in the shower telling us about the new Old Spice body wash, Live Wire, which is two things, a body wash and a moisturizer, just like he's two things (a man and a horse). Actually, I'm not sure what he's saying because he's standing there naked in the shower, slowly rubbing his torso with soapy lather, so excuse me for not paying much attention to what he's saying.

The guy is handsome and manly and nicely built, but I think the catch for me is the soaping. You just don't see naked guys touching themselves on TV. I know that Old Spice always has wholesomely sexy guys in their ads, but this guy is a little less wholesome than average, which is A-OK in my book. It's also amusing (the guy plunks the Old Spice bottle down on his [horse's] ass at the end), and he has a butch voice, and there's the general wetness, and did I mention the torso-touching? Anyway, I watch the ad whenever I can, and damned if I didn't go out and buy a bottle of the stuff.

P.S.: I don't like it. A little too runny, and the scent is too cucumber-y. But I still love the ad. And if they ever put it out in a bottle shaped like that centaur, I might it again.