• by Larissa Faw , March 7, 2016

For more than 40 years the iconic Brawny Man has stood for toughness and resilience, but now the brand is shifting from men to celebrate women in conjunction with International Women’s Day on March 8.  

Developed with agency Cutwater, the #StrengthHasNoGender campaign centers around 90-second video documentaries highlighting the real stories of four women from "traditionally male-dominated professions who have overcome adversity and are inspiring others through their resilience and accomplishments," says the agency.  

"We did a lot of research to find women who had unique stories of overcoming adversity and empowering others through their accomplishments," says Frances Morgan, brand manager for Brawny. "The difficult part wasn’t finding these stories, it was narrowing them down and determining who we wanted to feature in the campaign because there were so many to choose from."  

Location also played a role in the selection process, says Morgan, adding Brawny was focused on a few important markets for the brand, like Atlanta, Denver, Detroit and Pittsburgh.  

These four women - selected for their backstories and ability to inspire others - are WNBA's Swin Cash, first Latina MLB owner Linda Alvarado, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, and firefighter Maureen Stoecklein. 

"What we ended up with are not just four women who have accomplished amazing things in their lives and professions, but women who represent people everywhere who are demonstrating every day that strength has no gender," says Morgan.  

The videos are available on Brawny.com and on social media channels. As part of their role in #StrengthHasNoGender, the four women participated in a photo shoot that showcases them in the brand’s signature plaid shirt. 

Furthermore, these images will be integrated into the campaign to promote the videos across digital channels. 

Also, a social media push with the hashtag #StrengthHasNoGender will raise awareness for the movement.  

This project is aimed at women and designed by women. The #StrengthHasNoGender videos were produced by woman-owned kaboom productions and directed by the Emmy-nominated duo of Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg. 

"We felt it was important to find the right people to help tell our story," says Morgan.  "In hindsight, given the topic it’s no coincidence that we ended up with women both in front of and behind the camera." 

Brawny began working with Cutwater in 2014.  The agency first created the Stay Giant campaign in 2015 to support the concept about facing life’s challenges with strength of character. This Strength Gender campaign serves as an extension to Stay Giant.