March 30, 2017

The Brawny Woman #StrengthHasNoGender

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC


Brawny Woman

Greetings from Stites' newest member of the Trademarkology family! My name is Rachel and I am so honored to be making my debut as a guest blogger on Trademarkology this week! I work in our Nashville office and I love finding ways to have fun while trying to figure out this crazy little thing called the practice of law. I love my job and the people I work with so you will almost always see me with a smile on my face and usually laughing. I love Tennessee football (Go Vols!), puppies, chocolate, long walks on the beach, etc.

Another fun fact about me is that I watch NBC's TODAY show religiously as part of my daily morning routine. A few days ago, one of the trending stories caught my eye and I was so intrigued that I stopped mid-mascara application to grab the remote, back the program up 30 seconds, crank the volume, and watch the whole segment over again to learn more. Watch the clip here.

In honor of Women's History Month, Brawny has produced a limited edition pack of paper towels that has The Brawny Man® stepping aside to give women the spotlight as part of the #StrengthHasNoGender campaign.

This is the second year of Georgia-Pacific's "Strength Has No Gender" initiative. However, this year, in addition to the limited-time packaging, Brawny will be showcasing a series of short films on its website that highlight women in STEM fields, such as: Vernice Armour, the first black female combat pilot in the U.S. military; Dr. Anna Kornbrot, the first woman to graduate from Columbia College and now an oral surgeon; Brittany Wenger, a college senior who taught herself to code and invented Cloud4Cancer, an artificial intelligence program for breast cancer detection; and Dr. Patty Lopez, a veteran computer scientist and advocate for minorities in STEM. Brawny has also made a $75,000 donation to Girl's Inc., an advocacy group focused on inspiring young girls to enter these fields. Learn at Girls, Inc.

"There are women and girls everywhere who exhibit strength and resilience in their lives, and that's the inspiration behind the Brawny #StrengthHasNoGender campaign," Frances Morgan, senior brand manager at Georgia-Pacific, said in a statement. "STEM is among many areas of society that are underrepresented by females, and we felt this would be a powerful platform to address this issue. Our partnership with Girls, Inc. will help promote girls' interest in these fields and empower them to break gender stereotypes" Morgan said.

I must admit, I've always been more of a Bounty select-a-size kind of girl, but there is no denying the familiarity and brand recognition that Brawny has created with its burly, flannel-wearing man. The iconic Brawny Man® has a rich history that dates back to the brand's original launch advertising in the 1970s.

Brawny History

(source of photo:)

The Brawny Man® has received several makeovers over the years, but one thing has remained the same â the Brawny Man® is one of the most recognizable men in the history of advertising. In fact, according to the Art of Manliness (yes, that is a real website) the Brawny Man is one of the manliest brand icons of all time. Undeniably, the clad-in-plaid Brawny Man is just as recognizable to consumers as the company's own name. Indeed, the Brawny Man has become an intrinsic part of the company's brand identity. I think the fact that Brawny was willing to "wipe" its iconic Brawny Man from its packaging in favor of the Brawny Woman, even if only for a month, speaks volumes about the company's commitment to promoting women in STEM.

I am all about women's empowerment and think it's so cool to see a powerful-looking woman in a plaid shirt rocking it on the front of Brawny's paper towels (plus, red is a great power color). I am such a fan of Brawny's #StrengthHasNoGender campaign that I had to get in on the action and buy a pack for myself (sorry Bounty). Congratulations Brawny, your commercial gimmick totally worked on me.

Brawny Woman Photo 1

I support Brawny's campaign and I like to focus on positive messaging; however, as expected, not everyone is happy about the change or the execution of the campaign. If you want to see what the critics have to say, just search the #BoycottBrawny hashtag on Twitter.

These limited edition Brawny Woman rolls are available in an eight-roll pack throughout the month of March in Walmart stores across the country. To learn more about the #StrengthHasNoGender campaign and see the real stories about real women in STEM visit Brawny's website.

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