The Cancer Slam

To promote Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life event agency Mother London have developed a dance to teach participants. There’s a ‘flashmob’ happening today at London’s Liverpool Street station where people can learn the dance.

They launched The Cancer Slam with this video. What do you think?

Breast cancer cause marketing, oh là là  (nudity)

This PSA from Association de Lutte Contre le Cancer du Sein says, simply: “Do like me. Screening saves lives.”

But instead of giving a demonstration of screening, it just goes straight to the sexually provocative nudity.

I’d give a more detailed critique, but I don’t think I can do better than the dry sarcasm of Adland’s dabitch:

This French breast cancer awareness commercial has a message for you, you don’t need to know French to understand.

Everyone likes them.

Sigh. Cancer isn’t sexy. Sex is sexy. Can we get over confounding the two now? Please?

See the video after the break.

Another October has come and gone, but are the #Pinkverts getting any better?

I started the “Pinkverts” category on Osocio last year as a way to encourage discussion about the various issues raised by breast cancer cause marketing, such as “pinkwashing,” cynical exploitation of the cause for publicity or profit, and the trivialization or sexualization of the widespread and often fatal disease.

This campaign, by Fuck Cancer (via Mashable) is a good example of why we need to keep having this conversation.

“A lot of people are pissed off about the ‘pink’ thing,” Yael Cohen, CEO and founder of F Cancer, told Mashable. “They don’t feel it gives them strength when they’re going through everything. We wanted to give people a different way to interact with cancer this month — a way that was humorous, light and, above all, actionable.”

But is substituting sexual innuendo for “the pink thing” really progress? There have been some excellent campaigns that have used frank nudity for attention with respect and effective information delivery, such as Scotland’s recent campaign starring Elaine C. Smith. All too often, however, it just ends up sleazy.

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Another breast cancer campaign uses the issue as an excuse for erotica #Pinkverts

The message of this PSA from Chile is basically “boobs… boobs… boobs… sex… boobs… women should have breast exams”.

It’s been done many times before. But I’m not sure anyone has been quite this over-the top with it:

The problem is the overarching message that women’s breasts exist for the purpose of men’s pleasure (and the occasional baby’s lunch), therefore they need men to save them.

There are no faces in the ad; just breasts. Because apparently that’s what we men really care about. (Even the campaign site’s “how to do an exam” graphics are porny.)

As Lisa Hix wrote on Jezebel, “Save the women, not the boobies”.

Nobody sexualizes breast cancer quite like a fashion magazine #Pinkverts

Eva is a Honduran magazine “for Women Entrepreneurs, vain and bold!”

Copy reads: “A healthy body is your best garment. Always protect it from Breast Cancer.”

There is no obvious fundraising or informational call-to-action here, just a beautiful nude woman and a generic statement that cancer is not good.

The creatives were both men.

Can you raise breast cancer awareness without even showing women?  #Pinkverts

[Image via Saudi Women to Drive Facebook page]

Åsk, at Adland, made me aware of this breast cancer month poster from Saudi Arabia.

Hot on the heels of IKEA’s PR disaster last week, when it was found that all women had been Photoshopped out of its Saudi catalogue, this campaign has emerged from the murk of the internet.

Åsk notes:

This isn’t an easy topic in Saudi, where women are in many cases controlled by men as they have fewer legal rights overall in the country, and the culture itself is male-dominated to the extreme. That the poster becomes a mano-a-mano talk about letting your wive(s) check their breasts isn’t at all surprising.

According to people posting in the Facebook thread where I found the uncropped picture, the men in the ad are all Saudi celebrities. From right to left: musician Qusai, journalist Turki Al-Dakhil, (unidentified) and comedian Omar Hussein. The caption beside them reads,  “For you, my dearest”.

There is also video, on YouTube:

It appears to be a campaign in which men show their support and approval for women getting checked. It reads as pretty patronizing to my western sensibilities, but is it progress for the region? The Adland post includes a quote from gynecologist Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi, who explains “In male-dominated societies like some areas in Saudi Arabia, women’s decisions are controlled sometimes by men, and men may be unaware of or may disapprove of screening.”

It’s interesting to compare this to the men‘s breast cancer campaign in the UK that featured a fully-clothed man cavorting with a bevy of bouncing, topless women. That, too, shows a skewed perspective on the sexes.

If I had to choose between sexist societies, however, I’d still pick the one where women speak for themselves.

See all versions of the ads after the break.

Breast fetish porn… for the cure?  #Pinkverts

The sexualization of breast cancer cause marketing is, unfortunately, common these days. But what do you call it when the sex industry decides to adopt breast health as a “corporate social responsibility” issue?

Pornhub is ab online sex video aggregator. This is what’s on the top of their homepage right now:

If you click the link, you get this message:

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The “cute” side of cancer?  #Pinkverts

There really is no relief from the commercialization of breast cancer. The ad, above, is for a “pink ribbon” merchandise wholesaler.

Here’s the pitch:

Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Awareness Merchandise - The Perfect Way to Raise Money!

Fundraising For A Cause has Breast Cancer Ribbon Merchandise and pink ribbon fundraising merchandise at low wholesale prices. Our Pink Ribbon Awareness items and Breast Cancer Awareness items are high quality and allow you to raise a bunch of money for Breast Cancer Awareness. Our products include; Pink Ribbon Jewelry, Pink Ribbon Bracelets, Pink Ribbon Pins, Pink Ribbon Lanyards, Pink Ribbon Coffee Mugs, Pink Ribbon Stickers, Pink Ribbon Cards, Pink Ribbon Hats, Pink Ribbon Car Magnets, Pink Silicone Bracelets, pink ribbon socks, breast cancer awareness ribbons, breast cancer awareness merchandise, breast cancer ribbons, pink ribbons and much more. You are surely able to find some Pink Ribbon Merchandise that will allow you to raise money and help your organization. Pink Ribbon Fundraising and Breast Cancer Fundraising is easy and there are a ton of Breast Cancer Walks like the Susan G Komen 3 Day walk, Avon breast cancer Walk, Making Strides for Breast Cancer Walk, Race For The Cure and Relay for Life and other breast cancer Fundraising Events that you can participate in to raise money for this great cause. People can get nervous about fundraising but it is easy. And our Pink Ribbon Merchandise makes it fun.  You will find that selling pink ribbon Awareness Merchandise and breast cancer awareness merchandise, breast cancer ribbon merchandise will be one of the easiest ways to raise money for your breast cancer Walk or breast cancer Fundraising Event. Your donors will love wearing their pink ribbon and your friends will want a breast cancer ribbon too.  Be sure to check out our Fundraising Tips section for other great tips to help you with your breast cancer fundraising.

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Pink running gear for breast cancer awareness #Pinkverts

Our latest Pinkverts find is a collection expensive pink running gear by ASICS.

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Lee National Denim Day® fights cancer (and corporate dress codes)  #pinkverts

The Lee jeans company claims its National Denim Day has been ranked “one of the Top 10 Most Influential Cause Marketing Campaigns of All Time” by the Cause Marketing Forum, and named “one of the most imaginative campaigns” by Forbes.

It’s really just a “Casual Friday” fundraiser. As I wrote recently in Change Marketing, my first exposure to Casual Fridays in the corporate world was exactly this: you get to wear jeans to work by paying a $5 “fine” that goes to charity.

As a jeans company, Lee claimed ownership of the trend in 1996, and has raised more than $86 million for the American Cancer Society, with nearly one million participants annually.

[more after the break]