She Washed Him Out in 1949. Suave Bottled It Brilliantly in 2026.
The shower. The breakup. The $5 body wash. The Strategic Enemy in action.
Rodgers and Hammerstein Created the Enemy. Suave Bottled It for 2026.
This smells great to me.
To the younger generation: Suave is a brand your Mom bought.
They fought back. Not with a new logo. Not by changing their positioning.
They reframed the thirfty choice message for a new generation by connecting it to a timeless (75 years and counting) idea.
In 1949, Mary Martin wanted to wash her hair on stage during South Pacific.
A staging idea that accidentally became a cultural truth.
Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the song around it. “I’m gonna wash that man right out of my hair” became a hit and a standard of the American Songbook. And one accidental moment forever linked the shower to the breakup.
Brands noticed.
In the 1980s, Clairol borrowed the words and jingle, swapping the man for grey hair. It was a powerful and memorable combo.
Suave didn’t borrow the song. They recognized and weaponized what it had planted in every woman's mind.
“Smell Like Your Ex(foliating Body Wash)” is set inside a fictional thrift store called the Ex-Change. Not a random setting. Very strategic.
Young women thrift. They save money. They get their hearts broken. The Ex-Change is their world, trading in the remnants of a bad relationship for something better. A fresh scent. A fresh start. All for $5.
In the ad, she returns the hoodie. But you can’t return a scent.
That’s the enemy. Not a competitor. Not a price point. Him.
And the product? Pistachio Cream. Vanilla Suede. Strawberry Delight. Citrus Blossom. Scents that are the opposite of whatever he smelled like.
The tagline says it perfectly: “Four craveable scents that won’t disappoint. Unlike your ex.”
The enemy does double duty, selling the emotional reset and the product benefit in one line.
Positioning is about what you own in the mind. Suave owns thrifty choice. Affordable. Accessible. Smart. The thrift store setting and the $5 price tag aren’t accidents, they’re the brand.
This campaign perfectly combines the Ex-Change with an affordable product that makes you smell great and leaves him behind. Everything clicks.
Suave is nearly 90 years old. The problem of the brand isn’t awareness, it’s perception. Young women know Suave. They just didn’t think it’s for them. Picking a new strategic enemy authentic to the brand’s positioning changes that.
Match the right strategic enemy to the right brand and magic happens. This one smells really great too.