Afrothought Salutes: Isaiah Mustafa

We haven’t done one of these in a while but, when someone so badass comes around, we just gotta point it out. This edition of Afrothought’s Badass of the Moment is Isaiah Mustafa, also known as “The Old Spice Man” or “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like”. The first time I saw the Old Spice commercials, I wasn’t really paying attention (I was in the middle of cooking), but from what I saw I thought it was hilarious. It wasn’t until the second time I watched the commercial in its entirety that I knew I had seen something special. It reminded me of those old Izuzu ads in the late 80s/early 90s. Still, something about the commercial clicked with me and that same thing made me burst into laughter and tears. Since the commercials have been airing, the Old Spice channel on Youtube has been seen over sixteen million times and sales have skyrocketed over one hundred and seventeen percent. That, my friends, is smart advertising.

Isaiah Mustafa is a man’s man. He played as a wide receiver in the NFL for the Oilers, Raiders, Browns, and Seahawks. Dude even played Moses in the 2005 remake of The Last Supper. And now with all the publicity and manly accolades, Hollywood is starting to give a brother some opportunities. Since the commercials, he’s been seen on Ellen, Oprah, signed a talent agreement with NBC, and landed two roles in the upcoming Tyler Perry Movie as well as the Jennifer Aniston/Jason Batemen movie, Horrible Bosses..off of just a few 30 second TV ads. Now that’s impressive. The only thing its seems Mustafa hasn’t been considered for is playing a superhero in an upcoming Marvel movie, although he has expressed interest in playing Luke Cage in the upcoming Marvel movie. All that from one commercial. Now that’s badass. Check out the video below and listen to him explain his latest “one-take” commercial and breakdown of this badassery.