There’s nothing like a cooling sensation for the summer, and that’s exactly what Davidoff Cool Water’s latest spot aims to convey. It’s also hired Scott Eastwood (yes, son of Clint) to be its spokesman, a clean-cut American actor who once went by the stage name of Scott Reeves to avoid nepotism.
   But Eastwood isn’t your typical actor, either. He shuns the Hollywood way of life, loves the outdoors, and even moved to Australia when he was 20 to chase the surf on the Gold Coast. He is an avid swimmer, diver and surfer, and has a passion for the ocean, supporting the Love the Ocean campaign which Davidoff supports with the National Geographic Society. It’s this real Scott—rather than the actor who has starred in The Longest Ride, which débuted earlier this year—that the new spot comes close to revealing, as he enjoys the waves on the coast.
   The new campaign for the classic minty, lavender and amber fragrance that broke this summer was shot by Jeffrey Darling, and Don King, known for his water cinematography. An accompanying print advertisement photographed by Nathaniel Goldberg highlights the Hawai‘ian coastline and its beauty.
   Eastwood dives into the ocean, and powerfully swims among the waves, giving Davidoff Cool Water that masculine association along with the notion of freshness, exactly what you expect. But the rawness of the film works, and there’s no need for anything subtle here.
   What’s also real is the tagline, ‘What makes the ocean, makes the man,’ which apparently was not the result of clever consumer clinics. Instead, Eastwood and his friends concocted it while rehearsing, and the phrase stuck. Coty, the company behind the scent, courageously adopted it, and, like the rest of the ad, it works.
   If you hadn’t noticed Eastwood before, you probably will now.


Post sponsored by Davidoff