The Toronto Weekend to End Breast Cancer is on in September and we’re starting to see the commercials for it now. I love breasts. I don’t love cancer. So I’m definitley for the cause.
What I’m less enthusiastic about is the guilt-inducing promotion. This year’s campaign to get people to register for the city-wide walk uses the tagline “Breast cancer is hard. Walking isn’t.”
Maybe I’m overly sensetive, but I find this a little dramatic.
As far as disease organizations go, breast cancer has got to be among the most successful for fundraising. People are all over it. Pink ribbons are everywhere–on bumper stickers, sponges, pens, football fields, tupperware, t-shirts… you get the idea. They receive loads of support every year. I don’t think we need to be emotionally manipulated to get involved.
If the commercial was for anything else (i.e. homelessness or starving children), I like to believe I would be less irked. It’s not that breast cancer is less serious than other causes. But the organization has already done so well getting financial backing and media exposure that tactics like implying no one cares makes them sound ungrateful.
June 15, 2009 at 1:57 pm
i totally agree with your opinion. Earlier this year i was doing a marketing project and was looking for suitable charities to sponsor. OUr team was looking through ads for different organizations and was quite put off by this series of ads. And I think you nailed it when you said that it makes them seem ungrateful. That must be why the ads just don’t seem right.
July 24, 2009 at 1:48 pm
They have their symbol on cheques now, too. I see a lot of cheques at work and the pink ribbon is a pretty popular theme.
August 8, 2009 at 10:06 pm
it’s not that they are ungrateful it’s that they still need support my mom had breat cancer and the chemo weakened her immune system so much she got lukemia and died four days after being diagnosed with out support from people it’s a hopless cause the only way to truly fight it is to find a cure finding the cure for one type of cancer is going to help them find a cure for all types of cancers AND ITS ONLY POPULAR BECAUSE IT HAS AFFECTED SO MANY PEOPLE
August 9, 2009 at 9:12 am
first, i’m very sorry to hear about your mom. it’s stories like hers that reinforce the need for these organizations–and more importantly, a cure. i don’t think anyone would debate breast cancer’s prevalence or need for support. having said that, i still question the tactics used by this particular campaign. the line implies that, up until now, no one has cared or contributed, which is false.
October 17, 2009 at 12:41 am
This is an embarrassingly late comment, but you might be interested in the book “Pink Ribbons Inc” and the following CBC clip:
http://archives.cbc.ca/health/medical_research/clips/11136/
You’re not the only one who finds this type of marketing distasteful. Oh, and the number one killer of women is heart disease, hands down.