In its latest ad campaign, Brawny rebranded its mascot to introduce consumers to an all-new product: three-ply paper towels.

Rebranding Brawny

Entitled: “Summon the Strongest,” the campaign consists of two 30-second advertisements involving “real” scenarios of people unexpectedly caught in a messy situation, who summon the new-and-improved Brawny Man by calling “Braw-NEE!” through an empty paper towel tube. Each time, he magically appears within seconds, providing them with a much-needed roll of three-ply paper towels so they can quickly clean up.

Unlike previous iterations of the Brawny Man, the new mascot isn’t just a hot, personality-less hunk. He’s funny, relatable, and brings a comforting dad-energy to Brawny’s commercials. Jaime Robinson, chief creative officer and co-founder of Joan, the creative agency behind the ad, commented:

“We asked, ‘What might the Brawny Man be like today?’ He is here to help out, he’s a good person, and he gives you the strength you need—but he also has some agency. We had to give him more of a personality and make people fall in love with him.”

According to Adweek, Brawny wanted the new commercials to be rooted in “reality,” instead of presenting a hyper-sterile, surreal environment, like typical cleaning ads. The company also teamed up with agency Bulletproof to redesign its packaging and refresh its logo as part of its rebranding efforts.

The reel deal

With the “Summon the Strongest” campaign, Brawny is also increasing its social media presence by producing engaging short-form content to share across channels. Reels and Shorts provide an opportunity for the company to showcase a more relaxed branding style while building brand recognition with younger consumers. As Robinson commented on the new content: “It’s closer to entertainment than advertising.” And the Brawny Man seems to be making the most of it. With a tongue-in-cheek attempt at using hip slang words, he takes on the scary world of Gen-Z TikTok culture in an effort to explain how Brawny’s new paper towels are “stronger than ever.”