Allianz's 'World's Strongest Women' casts abuse survival as strength — Grand Effie 2023

One in four women in Ireland who have been in a relationship have experienced domestic abuse, and reports rose 43% during the pandemic — yet shame and fear of not being believed kept many from asking for help. Allianz Ireland launched a three-year partnership with Women's Aid and needed to break the silence.

Film four women doing sports training, then reveal each move is a survival tactic against abuse — turning victims' daily courage into visible, world-class strength.

F&B Huskies made a film with a predominantly female team (Rattling Stick, directed by Fern Berresford) showing four women squat, lift and stretch in a sports arena before revealing each maneuver is a survival tactic: a wall squat against a door to keep an abuser out, a stretch to hide money in a financially abusive relationship. The film ran across TV, radio and digital, and the partnership also included staff training, a domestic-abuse policy and support for Women's Aid.

Contact with Women's Aid increased 302% and the campaign reached 72% of Ireland's population, with one in four people engaging; Google added a first-response help box for domestic-abuse searches. It won two Golds and a Bronze at the Effie Awards Ireland 2023 and Ireland's first-ever Grand Effie, plus international Epica and AME honors.

One in four women in Ireland who have been in a relationship have experienced domestic abuse, and reports rose 43% during the pandemic — yet shame and fear of not being believed kept many from seeking help. Allianz Ireland began a three-year partnership with the charity Women's Aid and needed a campaign that would break the silence.

F&B Huskies made a film, directed by Fern Berresford for Rattling Stick, that opens in the world of sport: four women squat, lift and stretch with determination. Then the film pulls the rug — each maneuver is a survival tactic. A wall squat holds a door against an abuser; a stretch hides money in a financially abusive relationship. The women are not training; they are surviving, and that is the point: they are the world's strongest women.

The film ran across TV, radio and digital in Ireland alongside helpline information, and announced Allianz's partnership with Women's Aid, which included internal training for senior managers, a domestic-abuse policy and funds for the charity.

Contact with Women's Aid increased 302%, the campaign reached 72% of Ireland's population with one in four people engaging, and Google added a first-response help box for domestic-abuse searches. In October 2023 it became Ireland's first-ever Grand Effie winner, adding two category Golds and a Bronze at Effie Awards Ireland.

Borrowing sport's language of strength gave survivors a frame society had never offered them — power, not pity.

The twist structure made a familiar topic feel new: viewers watched 'training' before realizing they were watching survival.

The campaign was built on a real action — Allianz's three-year partnership, staff policy and funding — so the message had institutional weight behind it.

Measurable behavior change followed: a 302% rise in contacts and Google intervening in domestic-abuse searches showed the film moved people to act.

Reframing is the product: by borrowing the visual language of sport, the campaign made victims visible as fighters — a frame that both earned attention and gave survivors a reason to call.

The campaign anchored Allianz's three-year partnership with Women's Aid, including staff training and support services. In October 2023 it became the first Irish Grand Effie winner at Effie Awards Ireland and later won international Epica silver and an AME bronze; in 2023 the agency behind it, In the Company of Huskies, was acquired by Forsman & Bodenfors, which took the case into its global portfolio.