Hai Karate

Hai Karate was a budget aftershave sold in the United States and the United Kingdom from the 1960s through to the 1980s. It was reintroduced in the United Kingdom under official licence in late 2014 by Healthpoint Ltd.

History

The fragrance was originally developed by the Leeming division of Pfizer and launched in 1967. As well as the original Hai Karate fragrance, versions named Oriental Lime and Oriental Spice were soon introduced. It competed successfully with such other brands as Aqua Velva, Old Spice, Jaguar, English Leather, British Sterling, Dante, and Brut before fading away in the 1980s.

Present

Brought back in 2014, Hai Karate has been re-produced according to the original formulation, although in a different bottle and re-worked packaging. Available for sale in the UK and online.

Marketing

Hai Karate is best remembered today for its television adverts and its marketing plan, with a small self-defence instruction booklet sold with each bottle to help wearers fend off women. In the UK spots, a stereotypical nerd covers himself in Hai Karate and is promptly seduced by a female passer-by played by British starlet Valerie Leon; similar ads ran in the US as well. All of the spots contained the catch phrase "Be careful how you use it".

References

• Cheers Sam Malone Hai Karate quote: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0539904/quotes
• Diamond Rio song "Bubba Hyde": "Slaps on his Hai Karate aftershave...."
• Frozone puts on some Hai Karate as he prepares for his and his wife's dinner party in The Incredibles

Further reading

• Tuckwood, Jan. "Uncorked Machismo!", The Palm Beach Post (June 2001)

External links

• Hai Karate Basenotes Fragrance Directory