In the face of tragedy, “Strong” has become cities' branding of choice
Plus: See the designs that could become the next flag of Illinois
Hello, in this issue we’ll look at how “Strong” became the unofficial branding for disaster recovery and what Illinois’ redesigned flag could look like.
Scroll to the end to see: a clock that aged like milk 🕒
In the face of tragedy, “Strong” has become cities’ branding of choice
On Friday, in response to the wildfires burning across the Los Angeles area, sports apparel manufacturer Fanatics released an “LA Strong” collection of shirts and hoodies to raise money for the American Red Cross and Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.
The “LA Strong” merch collection, designed in partnership with 15 Los Angeles sports organizations, includes apparel and hats for area pro and college sports teams as well as the city’s 2028 Olympics, priced from $35 to $150. The company has already sold more than 38,000 units at the time of writing, according to a tracker on its site—but merch with “Strong” nomenclature has an even longer fundraising success story.
The etymology of “Strong” as a rallying cry dates back to 2004 with the debut of cyclist Lance Armstrong’s yellow silicone Livestrong bracelets, which raised money to support people with cancer. The bracelet was worn by celebrities and became a popular accessory, selling more than 80 million units before Armstrong admitted to doping, and he and his partner Nike cut ties. The bracelets fell out of fashion, but “Strong” didn’t.
Local organizers used the phrase “Jersey Strong” after Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey in 2012, including a “We Are Jersey Strong. We Will Rebuild.” Facebook page that organized volunteers and sought to raise money for relief efforts.
But it was the response to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that popularized the phrase, after students at Emerson College raised $1 million through “Boston Strong” T-shirt sales.
“I knew a little bit of graphic design and Chris knew a little bit about marketing and we Googled everything we didn’t know,” former Emerson student Nick Reynolds told WGME on the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon attack about the simple blue-and-yellow shirts he made with fellow student Christopher Dobens.
The message, which they said was inspired by Livestrong and the U.S. Army’s “Army Strong” tagline introduced in 2006, was one of resilience, but it was also a bit of wishful thinking. “We didn’t necessarily feel strong,” Reynolds said. “We mostly felt helpless.”
And maybe that’s why “Strong” has had such staying power. It popped up on T-shirts in Orlando, Florida, after the deadly mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in 2016, and on shirts in Houston after Hurricane Harvey devastated the city in 2017. After the mass shooting of concertgoers in Las Vegas the same year, the hashtag #VegasStrong came not from local government agencies and local officials but from residents. The language appeared on signs in Parkland, Florida, after a former student opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and in El Paso, Texas, after a racist shooter opened fire in a Walmart store in 2019.
In the wake of heartrending examples of man’s inhumanity to man and destructive acts of God, it’s easy to feel powerless. To stay “Strong” in the face of such tragedies is aspirational, and the slogan has become a call for cities to come together and be the communities they know they can be. To bounce back and rebuild together, stronger than before.
As politicians like President-elect Donald Trump politicized the tragedy and public figures like Elon Musk pontificated, Angelenos got to work, serving food to the hungry, donating essentials to the homeless, and loving their neighbors. To close out his monologue Monday, a teary-eyed Jimmy Kimmel aired three straight minutes of such examples of service. “In the worst moments of humanity, the best of humanity always shows up,” World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés said.
The slogan is a simple message for communities that won’t be cowed, divided, or defeated in the face of tragedy. This is our home and this is who we are. More than a decade after “Strong” took hold as the unofficial brand of disaster recovery, it may seem hokey and cliché, but the earnestness is the point.
Previously in YELLO:
See the designs that could become the next flag of Illinois
Illinois could be the next state to get a new flag.