Topless Female Trampolining World Championships: Putting the sexy in men’s breast cancer?

Last week, I blogged about the teaser for this campaign at Work That Matters. Simply because of the title, I’m sure, “Topless Female Trampolining World Championships” almost instantly became my top post.

The campaign launched yesterday. Now a longer video, featuring “Swedish” spokesman “Lars”  (played by Irish actor Chris O’Dowd — see comments below) and a bunch of topless women, adds a call-to-action to the campaign site:

The campaign is a collaboration between Britain’s CoppaFeel! and Male Cancer Awareness Campaign (MCAC) to borrow the interest of women’s breasts to raise awareness of men’s breast cancers. On the campaign site, visitors can learn facts about male breast cancer prevention and look at high-resolution pictures of bare-breasted, beautiful young women. It’s like a lad mag with a purpose. (Although, to give them credit, the photos show no evidence of retouching.)

(More after the break)

CoppaFeel! was recently named Cosmopolitan UK’s charity of the year, and the magazine has done a photo spread featuring a ex-Spice Girl Mel B. and actress Jorgie Porter being felt up by their partners, “hand-bra” style:

Is this too much? CoppaFeel! is a young women’s breast cancer charity, and it has absolutely no problem with sexualizing breast self-exams (or better yet, in their minds, having a lover lend a hand). After all, the organization’s founder, Kris Hallenga, is adamant that such intimacy saved her life.

MCAC has a similar style, using gags and stunts like “James Bum”, “Near Naked Man,” and “Mr. Testicles” to get young male attention.

And what gets young (or any) male attention more effectively than boobies? But since displays of moobs are hardly likely to attract viewers, MCAC asked the women of CoppaFeel! to offer their chests as a substitute.

This is one of those cause marketing situations where the intention is quite plain: use whatever means necessary to raise awareness, even if it means adding to the hypersexualization of young women and their treatment as an erotic commodity for the male gaze. (Whoa… I almost thought I was writing for Sociological Images there for a moment.) That is a deal that the women of CoppaFeel! were willing to make to fight cancer. But I’m not sure it was the right one to make.

Comments

He’s actor Chris O’Dowd (“Bridesmaids, etc).

Thank you, Mark. Post updated above.

Dat does look goed i just want too like it

i iz agreeing to lots of stuffz like those 2 comments