It’s really hard to acknowledge both that you are dated, a part of the establishment, and yet that you you have qualities that makes you as edgy, contemporary & valuable today as you ever were. To push beyond the idea that “new is good & old is bad” that pervades our world.

This is why I think this little blurb on the back of my deodorant is brilliant!

Time for the backstory.

I keep some deodorant in my car in case I go for a surf & then don’t have time to go home before a meeting or something. I happened to notice it this morning & picked it up. My eye was drawn to the blurb & a fell in…. OK, maybe not love, but definitely like.

Old Spice is the kind of deodorant that makes me think of my dad, or someone else’s dad, or just dads in general. The picture on the cover is the kind of thing you’ve seen lurking in the corners of bathroom cabinets for years! How does a brand recognise that it’s as old as old, without relegating itself to being sold only to the 50+ market?

“If your Grandfather hadn’t worn it, you wouldn’t exist.”

Brilliant!

It connects it to ancient roots, while confirming that the brand has some kind of inherent sex appeal; something that always sells deodorant.

Of course, it’s not a message that you want to think about too hard for obvious reasons.

But the principle is actually worthwhile.

Some things have a universal value. They are always relevant, always helpful, but they might be trapped within a perception that they are dated to a particular time, or are useful only to a particular audience.

Could it be that a blurb (and a slightly risqué one at that!) on the back of a deodorant package delivers food for thought in how consider and deliver the Christian message?

I’m a Christian because I think the “good news” of the gospel is valuable for all people and for all time. How can I make sure that my message doesn’t get relegated to the back of the bathroom cabinet?