The first Old Spice® product, 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.
Early American Old Spice was developed around a colonial theme. When
Old Spice was introduced, Schultz was interested in maintaining a
colonial framework for those products and chose a nautical theme for
Old Spice. Thus, 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 the Old Spice fragrances, skin care,
antiperspirant, and deodorant products from the Shulton Company in
June 1990.