Hai_Karate

Hai Karate

Hai Karate

Line of men's aftershave and cologne

Hai Karate was a budget aftershave and cologne for men that was sold in the United States and the United Kingdom from the 1960s to the 1980s. It was reintroduced in the United Kingdom under official licence in late 2014.

Quick Facts

History

The fragrance was originally developed by the Leeming division of Pfizer and launched in 1967 with the catchphrase "Be careful how you use it."[1] Hai Karate was priced higher than Old Spice, Aqua Velva, and Mennen Skin Bracer, but lower than Jade East and English Leather.[2] Other fragrances were soon introduced named Oriental Lime and Oriental Spice. Hai Karate was reintroduced in the UK in 2014 by Healthpoint Ltd. following the brand's original formulation but using a different bottle packaging.

Marketing

Hai Karate was known for its humorous television[3] and magazine ads, which included self-defense instructions to help wearers "fend off women",[4] The brand's marketing plan was developed at the advertising firm of McCaffrey & McCall by George Newall, who gained fame as the co-producer of, as well as writing a few songs for Schoolhouse Rock![5][6][7] The advertisements were considered humorous as they played to a “male fantasy of a world where women find them irresistible.”[8] From 1969 to 1976, Bond girl Valerie Leon played the woman driven wild by a man wearing Hai Karate aftershave in a highly successful series of British commercials for the product.[9] Leon parodied her Hai Karate ad campaign role in The Goodies episode "It Might as Well Be String" by attacking Tim Brooke-Taylor.

References

  1. [1]
    Ostrom, Lizzie (2016). Perfume: A Century of Scents. ISBN 9781681772899. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  2. [2]
    Winston, William (1993). Market Analysis: Assessing Your Business Opportunities. Taylor & Francis. p. 67. doi:10.4324/9781315801308. ISBN 9781315801308. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  3. [3]
    Moshcovitz, Phillip B. (July 1970). "Martial Arts Media Madness". Black Belt: 49. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  4. [4]
    "Hai Karate ad". LIFE. Nov 24, 1967. p. 2. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  5. [5]
    Tannen, Mary (March 9, 2003). "Martial Lore". The New York Times Magazine: 6. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  6. [6]
    Kamp, David (2020). Sunny Days: The Children's Television Revolution That Changed America. Simon & Schuster. p. 178. ISBN 9781501137808. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  7. [7]
    Guillory, Monique, ed. (1998). Soul: Black Power, Politics, and Pleasure. NYU Press. p. 109. ISBN 0814730841. Retrieved 14 August 2019. hai karate.
  8. [8]
    Bowman, Paul (2020). The Invention of Martial Arts: Popular Culture Between Asia and America. Oxford University Press. pp. 63–65. ISBN 9780197540336. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  9. [9]
    Cotter, Robert. The Women of Hammer Horror: A Biographical Dictionary and Filmography. McFarland & Company. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-4766-8513-7. Retrieved 22 June 2022.

Further reading
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