By Kristin Wilcha

The Brawny Man icon was for years a mustachioed, flannel-clad guy who helpfully cleaned up around the house, showing off the super-absorbency and strength of the paper towels. Awhile back, the Brawny Man got a makeover–the vaguely ’70s era mustache was nixed, although he’s still attired in his reliable flannel shirt.

His new look is on display in TV ads and a cinema spot via Fallon, New York, which also created an interactive campaign called “Innocent Escapes,” which showcases the sensitivity and helpful way of the handsome and rugged Brawny Man. Zach Math of Omaha Pictures, Santa Monica, directed the online clips, available at www.innocentescapes.com. (The TV and cinema work was helmed by Happy of bicoastal Smuggler.) The new spots and interactive effort, which present the Brawny Man as the perfect guy, are not what one would expect from the category, which is normally limited to comparisons of paper towels absorbing spills.

   When users go to the site, which can also be accessed through Brawny’s main Web site, they can a select a customized or pre-made greeting–all of which can be emailed. The clips, shot first-person, include “Everyday Is Valentine’s Day,” “That Thing You’re Going Through,” and “Feeling Lonely,” and each shows the Brawny guy behaving in an adoring manner. For example, in “Your Hair, Its Perfect,” the action opens on a log cabin in the woods, a door open so we can see the Brawny Man building a rocking horse in front of a fireplace. He greets his unseen visitor, apologizing for the mess, explaining that he’s making the horse for some kids at a local school. Suddenly, he compliments his visitor on her haircut, extolling its beauty and perfection; he later writes and recites a poem about the hair. The interactive effort is similar to TV efforts, in that it presents perfect men, who notice haircuts, remember birthdays and, of course, clean up their messes. In addition to the pre-made clips, visitors to the Web site can also customize their own escapes from a pull-down window.

Marty Senn, the copywriter on the project, notes that the Brawny client was very open to the Web-based films and its viral component, and gave the agency team, which also included art director Molly Sheahan, a great deal of leeway in formulating concepts. “The client got right away, that for this to be successful, it had to be funny,” relates Sheehan. “It needed to have pass-on value, and I think for those reasons, they gave us a little more license to have fun with it too, more than you might if it was more traditional media.”

The client was receptive to the concept from the start. “When we presented, they were hoping we would present something like this,” explains Senn. “They wanted something they hadn’t really seen before, and they pushed us to make sure it was funny, and make sure people wanted to email it to each other, because if they didn’t do that, there wasn’t a whole lot of point to doing it.”

 

THE CONCEPTS

Each of the scenarios presented are decidedly over the top, and use stereotypes of what women want from men to humorously present the Brawny Man, a man whom a woman can trust. “I would say we thought about what [women] like in guys, or what guys think they should be doing,” explains Sheahan.

“[We were] pushing the stereotypes,” adds Senn, “[letting people] laugh at themselves and laugh at these things instead of getting too serious and too heartfelt.”

The project was shot over four days in Toronto this past winter, which meant for a tight schedule. “Something we learned as we were doing it, and became kind of fun, was using the camera as your second actor,” explains Senn. “And I think some of the bits that work the best are the ones that really use that camera as more of a person [as opposed] to just documenting what’s going on.” In certain clips, when the Brawny Man asks a question, the camera, his unseen visitor, nods in agreement.

The agency selected Math based on his reel, and several favorable conference calls. As of yet, there are no plans to make more of the greetings. “What we planned to do was create a lot of them right away,” says Senn, “and I think between all the pre-packaged ones, and the custom-made ones, there’s plenty on there for repeat visitors.”

Response to the initial round has been favorable, with a high pass-on rate–both Senn and Sheahan report that friends have forwarded them clips, not knowing they worked on the package.

    Additional agency credits on the “Innocent Escapes” project goes to: executive creative director Ari Merkin, interactive creative director Paul Bichler, art director Kim Haxton, director of broadcast production Brian DiLorenzo, and producer Zarina Mark.

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