"We are a product-based company," he added. "As the men's grooming category explodes and new entrants come in, we've had to evolve and refine our positioning."
"Wieden has tremendous capability and expertise in reaching the young target, talking with them as opposed to at them," Stealey said, referring to campaigns for ESPN and Nike that are aimed at the same audience as Old Spice, generally males ages 12 to 34.
Research aimed at the target consumer found something unexpected: the Old Spice brand's legacy was a benefit rather than a burden. The reason was that younger consumers tend to seek out venerable products they perceive as cool because they are authentic; examples include Converse sneakers and Lee jeans.
"Previous generations loved Old Spice and had a more emotional attachment to it," said Monica Taylor, an art director at Wieden & Kennedy who is one of two creative directors on the account. "I remember my dad using it; it was such a deep, rich brand."
Mark Fitzloff, a copywriter at Wieden & Kennedy who is the other creative director on the account, chimed in: "If you put Nikes on your feet, you're making a statement. If you're using Old Spice, you're not. Procter wanted to see if they could change that."
"Our timing was good because this is a moment when everyone appreciates authenticity, when retro is not necessarily a bad word," Fitzloff said. "So we can say, 'You can either be authentic or trendy."'
That also helps Old Spice, which has been around for decades, to sharpen its differentiation from Axe, which Unilever introduced in the US only four years ago.
"They have a clean slate," Taylor said of the Axe products, which also include fragrances, deodorants and body washes, "but they have had to invent a personality."
To underscore authenticity for Old Spice, the campaign gives a prominent role to the brand's original trappings and trade dress, including the cursive script logo, the clipper ship from the fragrance bottles and the vintage whistled commercial jingle. But they are treated playfully rather than reverentially, in a manner Taylor described as an "inside-the-joke feeling."
For example, a print ad for Old Spice fragrance, featuring a 1968 photograph of the actress Faye Dunaway sprawled out before a roaring fire, declares, "If your grandfather hadn't worn it, you wouldn't exist."
And the commercials with Campbell make a visual jest by showing him passing a painting of the clipper ship as he walks across a room. The joke comes when viewers realize the painting runs the length of the room and the ship has scores of sails and masts.
"The tone does have, I would say, a self-awareness," Stealey said, "a sort of wink about it that by and large is lacking in the category."
"We're looking forward to the results," he added.
The theme of "Experience is everything" is meant to convey "that with our heritage and history, Old Spice is uniquely positioned to get you that experience," Stealey said, adding: "For years, we've been counseled to drop the 'Old' from 'Old Spice.' I'm here to say we will not do that."
Too bad that it is probably too late for General Motors to bring back Oldsmobile.
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