On International Women’s Day, when everyone’s celebrating and honouring strong women, we got the nation talking about something that’s contradictory to women empowerment – bruised women.

In a nation where bruises on a woman are considered as a sign of vulnerability, we showed that bruises can be a mark of a woman’s strength, and a portrayal of her #FitToFight spirit. Thus, #BruisesCanBeGood was introduced.

This concept of ‘good bruises’ was a strong plank to build a case about the prevalence of injustice against women and the need for self-defence education for them.

On March 7 – eve of International Women’s Day, Indians were shocked to see bruised women at different locations. The nation started talking about the bruises, speculating untoward scenarios.

Next day, Reebok India revealed a harsh reality through a social experiment. People from all walks of life were brought face-to-face with a bruised woman and asked the reason behind her bruises. 85% of the audience claimed the reason to be physical violence, bringing to light a cruel truth – violence against women is so common in India that a bruised woman is always seen as a victim of injustice. A twist at the end revealed the identity of the bruised woman – a mixed martial artist. Featuring a real combat artist as the protagonist, the experiment underlines the brand’s message – #FitToFight, and concludes with a request to sign the petition to make self-defence classes mandatory for female students.

#BruisesCanBeGood stirred the nation, reaching 7 million people and earning 4 million video views on Women’s Day itself. Over the course of 4 weeks, the message spread far and wide as various media players spread the message about how a brand was claiming bruises to be good for women.

The campaign has reached 12.2 million people and garnered earned media worth INR 7.5 million on digital media, while the PR efforts garnered 72 stories, with around 50% in Cat A publications. 100% of the stories received were positive. The total PR value generated was worth INR 23.4 Million.

The #BruisesCanBeGood social experiment has received over 8 million views across multiple digital platforms and increased the brand’s view time on YouTube by 80000%.

The petition has been signed by 9820+ people asking for a reform for a strong and safe society.