The first Old Spice product, a fragrance called Early American Old Spice for women, was introduced in 1937, closely followed by Old Spice for men in 1938. The Old Spice products were manufactured by the Shulton Company that was founded in 1934 by William Lightfoot Schultz. The earliest of the men’s products were dominated by shaving soap and aftershave lotion.
Early American Old Spice was developed around a colonial theme. When Old Spice was introduced, William Lightfoot Schultz was interested in maintaining a colonial framework for those products and chose a nautical theme for Old Spice. Thus, sailing ships, in particular colonial sailing ships, were used as a trademark. Through continuous use and advertising, the various ships have become a valuable trademark identifying the Old Spice product for men.
The original ships used on the packaging were the Grand Turk and the Friendship. Other ships used on Old Spice packaging include the Wesley, Salem, Birmingham and Hamilton.
Procter & Gamble purchased Old Spice from the Shulton Company in June 1990. The clipper ship was replaced by the Sailboat/Yacht logo in the fragrance bottles in February 1992. More recently, P&G; has introduced many forms of deodorant sticks, body washes, and body sprays in several scents under the Old Spice brand. Old Spice is now the No. 1 antiperspirant/deodorant stick and body wash brand in the United States.