WCRS & Duchenne UK Shine Spotlight on the World's Strongest Boys with New Brand

Today, 18th July, sees the launch of World’s Strongest Boys – a new brand, created by WCRS, for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy charity, Duchenne UK.  

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic muscle-wasting disease that almost exclusively affects males. Around 2,500 boys in the UK are living with the disease today. There is currently no cure and in most cases boys do not live beyond their twenties.

While the degenerative condition makes the boys physically weak, having to live with this reality makes them incredibly strong; in a sense they are the World’s Strongest Boys. 

WCRS and Duchenne UK want to draw attention to these boys’ strong, defiant spirit by juxtaposing the world of physical strength and fitness with their remarkable inner strength. 

The brand’s launch campaign enlists a cast of famous sporting heroes and other performers to create short films showcasing jaw-dropping feats of physical strength. In each of these films the athletes voice the words, “If you think that’s strong, check out the World’s Strongest Boys”. 

Shared via the sports stars’ social channels, the films then direct the public to a website where a 60-second film reveals the true identity of the World’s Strongest Boys, shown through the eyes of 10-year old DMD sufferer Alex Hallam. The film was directed by George Belfield, of Somesuch. 

On the website, World’s Strongest Boys asks people to use their muscles to help boys losing theirs. They can do this by buying a range of fitness products – protein shakers and t-shirts – or by registering to take part in a series of ‘World’s Strongest Boys’ sporting events. All the proceeds will be used to fund vital research into a cure for DMD. 

The brand’s product and campaign photography, which features heroic imagery of boys living with Duchenne, was captured by the award-winning Kuba Wieczorek – the photographer behind Channel 4’s ‘Superhumans’ campaign for the Paralympic Games in 2012.

Emily Crossley, Founder and Co-CEO, Duchenne UK said: “We are at a potentially breakthrough moment in the history of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy - a disease that is cruel and unforgiving. We hope that this brilliant and moving campaign will help galvanise an army of supporters willing to join our fight to fund the research that will defeat it. We are grateful to the incredible and brilliant work of WCRS, Kuba Wieczorek and George Belfield, who have created a campaign that captures the very essence of courage and bravery of patients living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy".

Billy Faithfull, Executive Creative Director, WCRS said: “World’s Strongest Boys is a brand you can wear, a movement you can join, a cause you can back with a feat of strength, a purchase of merchandise or simply a share. We wanted to create something enduring for Duchenne UK, rather than a tactical piece of PR, by treating the cause as a sports brand might. We have big plans for how the brand and the movement will grow in the future”.