Walmart, Old Spice Mentor High School Students

Walmart and Procter & Gamble's Old Spice this summer honored the first class of high school graduates to participate in the "School of Swagger" mentorship program and touted the cause effort in stores. Developed with Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, America's Promise Alliance, and C.H.A.M.P.S. Male Mentoring Program, the program's goal is to increase high school graduation rates by 10% over the course of 10 years by pairing adult mentors with young people around the country. The partners celebrated the first two graduating classes in June with ceremonies in Chicago and Old Spice’s hometown of Cincinnati. The events featured speeches by Klutch Sports founder Rich Paul, and “Old Spice Guy” and social media personality Adam Waheed. Old Spice shared a video of the events through a June 22 Instagram update. "Mentorship is a proven key enabler to keeping high school students on track to graduation," said Matt Krehbiel, Old Spice vice president at Procter & Gamble, in a media release. "That's why Old Spice is on a mission to help motivate high school students and inspire the next class of creatives, entrepreneurs, scientists, technologists, and community leaders with a national call for mentors who can help showcase opportunities across a wide spectrum of professional disciplines." Adults can sign up to become mentors through School of Swagger web pages within Walmart.com and OldSpice.com. The brand has encouraged participation at Walmart stores through multiple shelf PDQs positioned on an endcap and equipped with QR codes directing shoppers to Walmart.com/SchoolofSwagger. Posts across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube (see video below) support. Old Spice also activated its National Football League sponsorship to enlist New York Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and former New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins to promote the campaign. Thibodeaux discussed the importance of mentorship in an April 30 Twitter ad while Jenkins led drills for students at West Jefferson High School in Harvey, Louisiana, at a November 2021 event unveiling the School of Swagger program. The School of Swagger name was originally used by Old Spice for a different form of education. In 2017, actor and original "Old Spice Guy" Isaiah Mustafa starred in a series of School of Swagger edutainment videos designed to teach pubescent boys about proper hygiene while answering questions about changes in their hair, skin and smells.

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