Isaiah Mustafa never made his mark on in the National Football League, but a deodorant has boosted the former Arizona State receiver to the big leagues in Hollywood.
Better known to his female fans as "Old Spice Guy," Mustafa has taken a leave of absence from beefcake duties to focus on his acting career. Isaiah's last new "Old Spice" spot was four months ago.
Mustafa played for NFL Europe's Barcelona Dragons in 1998. While he never played a game in the NFL, he was part of the Oakland Raiders and Cleveland Browns practice squads and attended Seattle Seahawks training camp in 2000 before being released and turning to acting.
While he's best known for Old Spice, Mustafa, 37, had a role in the recently released "Horrible Bosses" and is filming a Three Stooges movie set to be released in 2012.
Brand Channel reports italian model Fabio has been hired by Procter & Gamble to at least temporarily sit in as the new Old Spice guy, and to say it hasn't gone well is an understatement.
The "new" Old Spice YouTube channel's social call to action is a cheesy "Ladies, follow me" -- in contrast to the "old" Old Spice channel's more confident (and inclusive) "Follow us" as a social come-on.
Reaction to Fabio, 50, on social media has been overwhelmingly negative.
Speculation has Procter & Gamble trying to build public sentiment up to convince Mustafa's return to the ad campaign.
