Reebok India raises awareness on crimes against women with #BruisesCanBeGood campaign
Reebok India conducted a social experiment to highlight the crimes against women in India to commemorate International Women's Day (8 March).
Reebok India encourages self-defence training amongst women in latest campaign
According to the National Family Health Survey (NHFS-4), every third woman in India, since the age of 15, has faced domestic violence of various forms.
The #BruisesCanBeGood campaign was conceptualised by Isobar India features a spot showcasing a girl with bruises all over her body sitting among a group of people.
People were then asked to interpret what may have caused those bruises. Their interpretation ranged from her being a domestic abuse victim to her being beaten up by eve teasers and even self-hurt.
However, the girl with bruises stood up and did kick boxing actions. She then informed people about her being a martial artist and that bruises were a part of her training emphasizing that bruises can be good. However, it also emphasised on how people's first thought of negative things because those situations are quite prevalent in India and thus, encouraging change.
The mission of the campaign is to make self-defence classes a mandatory part of the curricula in schools and colleges. To achieve this, the brand has also written a petition on Change.org urging the Government of India to bring in the necessary reforms.
Silvia Tallon, senior marketing director, Reebok India, said: “Our idea behind ‘Bruises Can Be Good’ was to showcase the skewed lens with which our society views bruises and women. The ingrained perceptions of bruises being violence inflicted, shadows the inner strength of the woman and allows us to undermine them. Since combat training is in our brand gene, Reebok honours these bruises as a mark of physical strength and mental toughness that can face any challenge. On International Women’s Day, we salute women who beat the odds and are "fit to fight" physically, mentally and socially.”
