• NYSportsJournalism.com, Friday, September 10, 2010 9:37 AM

Barry Janoff tells us that Old Spice is upping the macho factor in the second year of P&G's marketing alliance with the NFL, replacing Isaiah Mustafa with Ray Lewis, the 11-time Pro Bowl linebacker of the Baltimore Ravens, who is considered one of the league's toughest players. Mustafa humorously spoke directly to women consumers who actually made the purchasing decisions for their men. Lewis, however, is going right for the throat of male consumers.

The new spot actually combines elements of Mustafa's spots with the harder-edged and more off-beat spots that featured Crews for Old Spice Odor Body Wash ("Block, body kick, EXPLOSION!" he yells in one spot as he fends off offending odors). The spot got its network debut yesterday to coincide with the kickoff of the 2010 NFL season. Lead agency is Wieden + Kennedy, Portland.

In his spot, Ray Lewis gets out of the shower covered in a body suit of soap. "I don't play fantasy football. I play 'for real' football," he states. "It takes a lot of hard work, a pinch of luck, body muscles, some salt and this -- Old Spice Swagger body wash. It's like a fantasy, only it's real. "He throws a saddle on a giant raven, climbs on board and takes off into outer space when for some reason, he uses a laser to blow up Saturn.

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