Unilever brings back Brut with best-use-of-Vinnie Jones award contender

Readers with long memories – or surviving relatives – may recall the archetypal 1970s “Great Smell of Brut” fronted by Kevin Keegan and boxer Henry Cooper. Made by an American company cheekily called Faberge as I recall. Cary Grant was its “brand ambassador” for a while, although I doubt he used Brut.

It’s now a Unilever brand and it’s returning for Christmas, fronted by another in-your-face former sportsman Vinnie Jones (although Paul Gascoigne who Vinnie once famously grabbed might argue with sportsman.)

Agency adam&eveDDB probably let out a virtual cheer when this landed in the in-tray.

Chris Barron, VP Beauty & Personal Care UKI at Unilever says: “With its classic heritage, men (and women) have enjoyed the distinctiveness and masculinity of Brut over the years. It’s a brand that has been beloved by Brits through the generations and it’s now back with a bang and an authenticity that made it famous.

“A fragrance for every man, whatever their age, Brut and Vinnie are here to shake up the world of modern fragrance with the latest ‘No Messing About’ campaign, reminding everyone to forget the nonsense and reach for a product that simply smells good.”

A&E creatives Matt Fitch and Mark Lewis say: “Enlisting the help of the straight-talking Vinnie Jones and legendary director Danny Kleinman, we decided to puncture the pretentious fragrance category and have some fun at a time when we can do with a bit of laugh. Brut is here to tell you to forget silk sheets, sexual prowess and gold nuggets: it just smells good, no messing about.”

Commercials within a commercial can be fraught territory but they pull it off here. The set designer deserves some sort of award.

MAA creative scale: 9.

Here’s one of the originals (filmed in the shower by the looks of it) – think they’ve moved on a bit.