Laverne Cox and Smirnoff Want to Meet You at the Virtual Bar(re) for Women's History Month

Women's History Month could use some inclusivity—and maybe a little vodka for all the progress we've yet to make. This March, Smirnoff is teaming up with actor and producer (and longtime brand partner) Laverne Cox on a campaign to broaden the scope of Women's History Month by pairing fan engagement with tangible support for businesses owned by Black and brown women. Smirnoff is hosting virtual workouts for fans throughout the month with SideBarre, a Black women-owned fitness studio in Washington, D.C. Cox will join the sweat session on March 3, and the brand will host an intimate Q&A and happy hour following the workout. Later in the month, actor Diane Guerrero and professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe will also join the workouts and host their own happy hours. The event with Cox will serve as the launch of a new product: a lemon elderflower flavor of its Zero Sugar Infusions line of Smirnoff vodka. In honor of the entrepreneurs behind SideBarre, Smirnoff is also making a $50,000 donation to Black Girl Ventures, a D.C.-based organization connecting Black and brown women-identifying entrepreneurs with the funding they need to succeed. It's part of Smirnoff's commitment to donate a total of $500,000 to the Black community, which it announced last June by donating the first half of that sum to the Transgender Law Center. "In these troubling, uncertain times, thinking about what we can do as Black folks, as Black women specifically, to empower ourselves and have that be amplified is really crucial," Cox told Adweek. "It's really everything." A Women's History Month for all women While most Americans know Cox as an actor, producer and Emmy Award nominee for her role in Orange Is the New Black, she's also classically trained in ballet—meaning she's likely to excel at the barre class, despite her admission that it will be her first. SideBarre is a Black women-owned fitness studio in Washington, D.C. Cox has been a national spokesperson and ambassador for Smirnoff over the last three years. Since her first ad with Ted Danson in 2018, her relationship with the brand has always been natural, she said. "I've had so much fun in the ad campaigns," Cox said. "It's always been a desire of Smirnoff's to give back, to listen to me and to listen to the community and respond." In that first spot with Danson, for example, it was Cox's idea to add the fan as she turned toward the camera at the end to showcase her suit—a touch that really made the ad, "Who Wore It Better," work. It also communicated a more inclusive American ideal. Highlighting that Smirnoff is made in the U.S., Danson explains that it's a beverage made for everyone in America, regardless of "who you are, where you come from, what you look like or who wore it best," as he walks across a tennis court toward Cox who, of course, made the suit they're both wearing look positively glamorous. "Even with all of its problems, I love America," Cox said. "It just was so exciting for me, as a Black trans woman, to get to celebrate being American through Smirnoff." And in the three years since that first ad, Cox said the brand has proven to her that it's ready to pay more than lip service to inclusivity. "I'm so blessed to have the platform I do and the visibility that I do," Cox said. "But the next thing is, 'How do we lift up other Black women of all kinds?'" By supporting Black Girl Ventures and SideBarre, Smirnoff is aiming to do just that. "Ultimately, what people really need are resources," Cox continued. "People really need money to start their businesses, they need money to make their lives better. So this is what we do." Read Next: How D.C. Became One of the Top Cities for Inclusive, Female-Driven Entrepreneurship