Brawny's new paper towel commercial features a row of paper towels with their animated, sinewy logo singing an absurdly entertaining cover of Bill Withers' 'Lean on Me' to prove that, hey, it's okay to be reliant on our towel cleaning products.
The original 1972 song was Withers' first and only chart-topping single on the Billboard 100 chart, later ranked No. 205 on 'Rolling Stones' 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Withers wrote the lyrics after he moved to Los Angeles -- where he noticed a lack of community, something he cherished as a child growing up in the coal-mining town of Slab Fork, W.V.
Watch the commercial below, and tune into AOL Radio's '70s Urban Music station to listen to Withers' version -- featuring the notable piano intro and his soulful, R&B vocals.
Listen to '70s Urban Music Radio Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. have read a lot of comments on the web asking who is the singer on this remake of "Lean on Me" in the brawny commercial. My favorite ones are the the post that ask, "why does the Brawny guy sound black:? I am proud to announce it is I , Freedom Bremner. I was honored to cover this tune from that was major influence in my childhood, for this commercial. It is my understanding that Mr. WIthers had to approve the performance and the singer personally. I'm glad I made the cut. By the way, I am black.
Posted at 4:09PM on Sep 3rd 2010 by houseofreedom
3. I don't care who the singer is in the Brawny commercial nor his nationality; Bounty took a perfectly good soulful song and used it for a paper towel commerical???!! I make it a point NOT to buy Brawny because of their use of Mr. Wither's song; totally inappropriate for any product.
Posted at 3:05PM on Nov 5th 2010 by LyricsRme1
4. You can be confident in your purchase as each item comes with a no hassle 30 day return privilege.
Posted at 12:43AM on Dec 10th 2010 by yujiayao
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1. How bad is this commercial? You take a great soul song and have some white guy overlay it. It sounds horrible and sure doens't make me want to buy your product!
Posted at 9:08PM on Mar 17th 2010 by Michael