THE BRAWNY GIANT SINGS OF A SAD, WASTED PAPER TOWEL IN AD INTRODUCING ITS QUARTER SHEETS

In the world of paper towels, half-sized sheets are nothing new and are available from all the big brands and retailer private labels. But halves of those halves? Cool. And certainly handy if you’ve ever felt wasteful wiping up a tiny drop of ketchup or ice cream with what feels like a blanket of excess (and don't feel like sectioning a towel on your own, sans perforation).

Georgia-Pacific's Brawny is the first brand to deliver such an offering with its new “Tear-a-Square” product, which it’s now promoting in a funny new music video from agency Wolfgang.

Starring the brand’s Giant mascot, the humorous minute-plus film reminds viewers just how far a little bit can go. 

It depicts the giant delivering a dirge about a paper towel who never got to fully realize his potential, having been tossed into the trash bin with just a dot of ketchup or mustard on one corner. Veering from the familiar formula that depicts household spills of flood-like proportions, the video captures more realistic situations--a glob of marshmallow here, a drizzle of dog drool there. 

“Barely had a chance to clean, he’s in the garbage now,” the Giant sings. Thrown away before his time, for a mess no bigger than a dime. Barely used, still mostly clean, traded his whole life—for a single bean.”

But things turn up when he sings of Brawny’s “Tear-a-Square.”

“Use a little square not more,” he chants. 

Nicole Cook, director, brand building at Georgia-Pacific says this is the first big marketing push for the product, which has been rolling out in brick and mortar stores this year. Last year, the company did a soft launch of the product on Amazon, which proved helpful in determining consumer interest.

The digital video and its song are intentionally modular in format, which will allow hyper-targeting with the product’s various usages to address Brawny’s key demographics, Cook says. “We have pockets of consumers we know are really interested in the product and Brawny in general, so this will allow us to tap into their interests.”

For example, the video contains specific scenarios featuring pets or moms with small kids. “We can explore and do A/B testing to really understand how we can target those consumers,” she says. “We ended up getting a lot of that content out of that one spot.”