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Jaime Gottlieb
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A south Florida native, Gottlieb is a Creative Writing graduate from Florida State University and was a freelance Arts and Entertainment feature writer before joining ADOTAS in 2004.

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Fallon Helps Brawny Wipe Your Hubby’s Slate Clean

Written on
June 16th 2006
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by Jaime Gottlieb  |
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Nothing says manly like, um, paper towels. At least that’s what Brawny will have you think this week with the launch of their recent online campaign, the Brawny Academy. This series of webisodes and the microsite, which Fallon created and launched the first mobisode Monday, features 8 men who are sent to North Carolina by their unhappy wives to literally clean up their act under the leadership of the flannel-clad Adonis himself: the Brawny Man.

Following the successes of Fallon and Georgia Pacific’s last online viral campaign, Brawny Innocent Escapes, the two companies teamed up again to create a new spin for their typically mom-targeted product.

As Sarah Tollefson, Account Supervisor for Brawny Academy,tells ADOTAS, “From the beginning, Fallon and our clients at Georgia Pacific recognized that we needed to create a platform that would not only defy existing category conventions but also inspire our target consumers to engage with the brand on a deeper level (most advertising in the paper towel category is polluted with side-by-side product demonstrations and stereotypical portrayals of smiling women in pristine white kitchens, elated to be cleaning up after cute kids and their “silly” messes - tsk-tsk, smile).”

So the creative heads took a step back from their usual angle and thought about the husbands of these hard working women and what they could do to help out a little more around the house when it comes to keeping it clean. “The concept is rooted in a universal truth: women want support and understanding,” says Tollefson. “With Brawny Academy, we’ve created a platform that provides resolution by arming women with tools to help their husbands become better men. The Brawny Man is the central figure that serves [not only] as an advocate for women, but also a role model for men.”

She continues, “We’ve literally built a place where women have sent their real husbands to learn from the Brawny Man, where they will be put through an intense training regimen that includes everything from household cleaning scenarios, to handyman activities, to improving their communication and personal skills that show their wives they care in a manly way. Hilarity ensues throughout the transformation of these men, but the ultimate mission of Brawny Academy is to create better, more proactive, more compassionate husbands. We think women will appreciate both the intervention and the comic relief.”

As for what you can find when you visit the Academy–in addition to the 8 webisodes–the site offers a downloadable Brawny Academy field guide, and step-by-step lessons the men folk can follow to take care of their wifeys. They even brought the Brawny man to life for the first time with this campaign with a flannel and denim wearing look-alike (or close enough any way).

The campaign, which is advertising online via banners on female-friendly lifestyle and entertainment sites like iVillage, as well as AOL and Yahoo, will target “women 30-54, skewed married with children, household income $75K and up.” Tollefson adds, “Attitudinally, our target views themselves as proactive life managers that are constantly juggling many tasks and balancing the responsibilities of home, work, and family. They are buying premium products, and have high expectations of themselves. Ultimately, we are targeting women who are seeking support and understanding of their daily lives.”

But Brawny isn’t just relying on the advertising standards; it’s taking the word to the street virally. In addition to the usual “send to a friend” option, Tollefson says, “We’re always looking for viral opportunities to get consumers to pass along and spread the word. We are also in the process of creating shorter digestible clips of content that can be easily passed along or posted on user-generated content areas like YouTube and Google Video, and of course, some grassroots efforts involving our moms, aunts, sisters, and friends.”

Wipe the slate clean at the Brawny Academy: http://www.brawnyacademy.com



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