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Old Spice Back With Crews

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Old Spice has launched new campaign for Old Spice Red Zone body sprays. The effort, called "Smell is Power," touts a new scent called Danger Zone, i.e., "the scent of courage," and breaks some advertising conventions by seeming to sabotage ads for other products in the corporate stable. The new SKU comes as a body spray, deodorant and body wash.

It also brings back comedian, actor, and former NFL player Terry Crews, who broke through with his role in the 2010 Old Spice "Odor Blocker Body Wash", directed by comedy writers Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim. The comedy director duo are back as well. The auteurs of Adult Swim's "Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job," are also about to debut a feature film "Tim & Eric's Billion Dollar Movie" at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival later this month.

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The new Odor Blocker campaign is meant to demonstrate how the scents of Old Spice body spray can transform a regular-smelling man into a man who smells like power.

Said Josh Talge, Old Spice brand manager, in a statement, "This campaign is targeting younger guys who might need a little more advice when it comes to blocking odor, and we felt there was no one more appropriate to offer his wisdom on the subject than Terry Crews, who resonates well with this target and is the epitome of all things power."

The campaign, via Portland, Ore.-based Wieden+Kennedy, comprises five commercials, including two 30-second and two 15-second TV ads, and one 15-second spot that will run exclusively on Old Spice's social media channels on Facebook and YouTube. The campaign will kick off with the debut of the 15-second during the NFL's NFC Divisional Playoff Game on Saturday, Jan. 14. The four other spots will begin airing the first week of February.

The second phase of the campaign comprises two co-branded television ads with two other P&G brands, Bounce and Charmin. The ads actually look like regular TV spots for Bounce Dryer Bar and Charmin Freshmates, except that in each case at some point the Old Spice spokesperson Terry Crews bursts in to the picture to show how Old Spice body spray smells so much like power it sells itself in other brand's commercials.

The Old Spice "Smell is Power" campaign will run on Adult Swim, BET, Comedy Central, ESPN and other channels. In addition, digital ads will appear across a number of sports, entertainment, humor and gaming outlets.

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