The New York Times story that David Singer links to is behind their "Select" wall but the post he put up is strong enough in its own right. Old Spice, by adopting a less maudlin tone and with ads starring cult movie fave Bruce Campbell, is dangerously close to actually achieving its goal of changing the brand's public image. The Campbell spots (previously written up here) are funny and the print execution, which features not so subtle messages such as "If your grandfather hadn't worn it, you wouldn't be here," are also just hip enough to be effective. It's a good campaign that might not be all that groundbreaking but does seem to be just effective enough to get noticed.